Alibaba Group founder, Jack Ma, has made his first appearance since Chinese regulators cracked down on his business empire.
His absence had fuelled speculation over his whereabouts amid increasing official scrutiny of his businesses.
The billionaire met 100 rural teachers in China via a video meeting. Mr Ma addressed the teachers as part of one of his charity foundation’s initiatives. The annual event is usually hosted in the resort city of Sanya, but was held online this year because of Covid-19 restrictions.
In the video, he is seen dressed in a blue outfit in a grey room a striped carpet.
China’s State Administration for Market Regulation announced an investigation into Alibaba over monopolistic practices, with a different shake up of his Ant Group company.
Suspicions about Mr Ma’s whereabouts were raised earlier this month, when he missed the recording of Africa’s Business Heroes, a television show on which he was a judge.
Although Alibaba attributed his absence to a scheduling conflict, several media reports said he had not been seen since making comments that were seen as critical of China’s banking system at a public event in Shanghai in October.
