Cover Story: Where to Now for Alibaba in the Post-Jack Ma Era?

Chinese billionaire Jack Ma, who has rarely been seen in public since irking the government with harsh comments about regulators in 2020, made headlines recently by giving up controlling rights in the company he founded, Ant Group Co., operator of the most popular digital wallet in the world.

Then, as if on cue, the government just days later announced it was bringing to an end the more than two-year crackdown on the sprawling internet sector, which had scuttled Ant’s massive $37 billion IPO in November 2020 and led to the delisting of ride-hailing giant Didi Global from New York five months after its debut.