Where is Jack Ma?
Seriously...13 Apr 2021

Where is Jack Ma?

On the eve of what would have been the world's largest share listing, Ant Financial, estimated to float for over $300bn, it's 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 Things started to go wrong for Ma after he told a room full of banking regulators that their methods were out of date and not fit for purpose.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's 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's happened to Jack Ma? In this program journalist Celia Hatton, who spent 15 years living and reporting in China, investigates. Celia asks if Ma is just keeping a low profile or is something more sinister at play? What does Jack Ma’s disappearance tell us about China's relationship with big business, the future direction of its economy and its attitude towards the growing number of domestic tech billionaires?

Producer: Rajeev Gupta

(Clips used: CBS, CNN, World Economic Forum, Alibaba Group, Financial Times)

Episoder(484)

A Dentist's Life

A Dentist's Life

In February 2024, the NHS dental crisis hit the headlines as hundreds of people queued outside a dental practice in Bristol to register as NHS patients. It was the latest sign of the severity of the n...

3 Mai 202428min

Counterfeit Characters

Counterfeit Characters

What do Artificial Intelligence and digital technology mean for actors and their relationship with audiences?Leading acting coach Geoffrey Colman, who has spent his working life on the sets of Hollywo...

26 Apr 202429min

Home Fires

Home Fires

Richard King explores the past and present of the second homes debate in Wales, revisiting the story of Meibion Glyndwr – active terrorists on British soil for almost 15 years. The proliferation of ...

23 Apr 202428min

Mila’s Legacy

Mila’s Legacy

How many medicines can you think of created for just one person? The likelihood is none - which is why the world hasn’t heard of milasen yet. But its creation, and the efforts behind it, could build...

16 Apr 202428min

Protein: Powerhouse or Piffle?

Protein: Powerhouse or Piffle?

Take a trip around the supermarket and you'll see shelves of products claiming to be 'high in protein'. Scroll through your social media and you'll find beautiful, sculpted people offering recipes and...

12 Apr 202428min

Rwanda Thirty Years On

Rwanda Thirty Years On

Victoria Uwonkunda makes an emotional journey back to Rwanda, where she grew up. It’s the first time she’s visited since the age of 12, when she fled the 1994 genocide with her family.Victoria retrace...

9 Apr 202428min

Dehumidified

Dehumidified

One baffling online scam – involving a £138 dehumidifier – and a humiliated BBC producer who will not rest until she has a return address for it.January 2024. Polly Weston’s toddler has a terrible cou...

5 Apr 202428min

Do We Still Need the Pips?

Do We Still Need the Pips?

To mark the centenary of the Greenwich Time Signal on the BBC, Paddy O'Connell asks the unaskable - Do We Still Need the Pips?First broadcast at 9.30pm on Feb the 5th 1924, the six pips of the Greenwi...

2 Apr 202429min

Populært innen Samfunn

rss-spartsklubben
giver-og-gjengen-vg
aftenpodden
konspirasjonspodden
popradet
aftenpodden-usa
rss-nesten-hele-uka-med-lepperod
rss-henlagt-andy-larsgaard
lydartikler-fra-aftenposten
grenselos
wolfgang-wee-uncut
min-barneoppdragelse
synnve-og-vanessa
rss-dette-ma-aldri-skje-igjen
fladseth
frokostshowet-pa-p5
alt-fortalt
rss-dannet-uten-piano
198-land-med-einar-trnquist
relasjonspodden-med-dora-thorhallsdottir-kjersti-idem