Global Courant 2023-04-21 18:52:49
HONG KONG — Billionaire Jack Ma, founder of Chinese technology giant Alibaba, has been named an honorary professor of business administration at a leading university in Hong Kong, the school announced Friday.
The appointment came weeks after Mr Ma made a rare public appearance in China after falling from grace over the government’s crackdown on the tech industry more than two years ago.
Mr Ma has kept a low profile since late 2020, when a speech he made attacking Chinese regulators was followed by Beijing pulling the plug on a planned IPO by Ant Group, an Alibaba affiliate.
A record US$2.75 billion (S$3.7 billion) fine was later imposed on Alibaba for alleged unfair trading practices.
The University of Hong Kong said on Friday that Mr Ma accepted an honorary professorship from its business school.
A spokesperson for the institution said the university welcomed Mr Ma to share “his rich knowledge and experience in business innovation and development”.
The professorship has a term of three years and will end in March 2026, according to local media.
The school’s website now features a profile of Mr Ma, highlighting his expertise in ‘management and strategy’.
In 2018, the same university awarded Mr Ma an honorary doctorate.
However, Ma has “no plans for public lectures or speeches,” according to the South China Morning Post (SCMP), a Hong Kong-based English-language newspaper wholly owned by Alibaba.
The Jack Ma Foundation, a charitable organization founded by the billionaire in 2014, told SCMP that “After taking a break from the education world, Mr. Ma looks forward to returning to campus life”.
Mr. Ma previously taught English at Hangzhou Dianzi University in East China’s Zhejiang province for eight years before founding Alibaba.
He also established an entrepreneurship center in Zhejiang in 2015, along with several Chinese business heavyweights.
That institution was originally called Hupan University, but the term “university” was removed from the name in 2021 due to Mr. Ma’s falling out with the Chinese authorities.
Mr Ma has been spotted in a number of locations around the world over the past two years, including on the Spanish island of Majorca, and reportedly lived in Japan for much of 2022. AFP
