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Where is Jack Ma?

Days before his company embarked on a share listing, billionaire Jack Ma went missing.

On the eve of what would have been the world's largest share listing, Ant Financial founder Jack Ma, the Chinese billionaire mysteriously disappeared. Things started to go wrong for Ma after he told a room full of banking regulators that their methods were out of date and not fit for purpose. Shortly afterwards, the Chinese government cancelled the listing and Jack went silent. The extroverted charismatic billionaire, who once flourished in the public eye, simply did not show up at key events.

It is happening more and more often in China; some of the country's most famous and powerful people are disappearing after coming into conflict with the Communist Party. China's most famous actress, the Chinese head of the international police agency Interpol and even a top news presenter all disappeared.

So what has happened to Jack Ma? Journalist Celia Hatton, who spent 15 years living and reporting in China, investigates.

(Photo: Jack Ma, founder of Alibaba Group. Credit: Getty Images)

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27 minutes

Last on

Sun 9 May 202104:32GMT
BBC World Service except East Asia & South Asia

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Broadcasts

  • Tue 4 May 202101:32GMT
    BBC World Service
  • Tue 4 May 202108:06GMT
    BBC World Service
  • Tue 4 May 202112:32GMT
    BBC World Service East and Southern Africa, South Asia, West and Central Africa & East Asia only
  • Tue 4 May 202119:06GMT
    BBC World Service except East and Southern Africa & West and Central Africa
  • Sun 9 May 202104:32GMT
    BBC World Service except East Asia & South Asia