Billionaire Jack Ma returns, gives rare speech at Ant Group

The South China Morning Post reported that billionaire Jack Ma, founder of Alibaba Group (China), gave a rare speech at the 20th anniversary celebration of Ant Group, Alibaba's affiliated financial technology (fintech) group.

The ceremony took place on December 8 and Mr. Jack Ma was seen sitting between Ant Chairman Eric Jing and Alibaba co-founder Peng Lei.

Billionaire Jack Ma at a conference in Shanghai in 2018

This is the first time Mr. Jack Ma has spoken at Ant Group since the group withdrew its IPO in Hong Kong and Shanghai in November 2020. Mr. Jack Ma is one of the founders of Ant Group.

In a short speech, Mr. Jack Ma congratulated the group's achievements. Although he has stepped down from corporate positions and lived a private life in recent years, the billionaire is still considered the spiritual leader of the empire he created.

"Twenty years ago, the internet was just starting and my generation was fortunate to grasp the opportunities it brought. From today's perspective, the changes brought by artificial intelligence (AI) in the next 20 years will be beyond people's imagination and AI will bring a greater era," said Mr. Jack Ma.

The billionaire believes that AI will change everything, but it does not mean it can decide everything. "Technology is important, but the truth that determines success or failure is whether we can create something truly valuable and unique in the coming era," he said.

The speech came just hours after Ant Group announced that Eric Jing would hand over the CEO position to Chief Financial Officer Cyril Han from March 2025 to focus on the role of chairman.

Chinese regulators abruptly halted Ant’s IPO in November 2020 and ordered the company to overhaul its business model to comply with financial regulations. Ant Group has been restructuring its organization for the past few years and is counting on technological and AI breakthroughs to revive profit growth, according to Bloomberg. Ant Group’s profit jumped nearly 193% in the quarter ended June, reversing a year-long decline.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/ti-phu-jack-ma-tai-xuat-co-bai-phat-bieu-hiem-hoi-tai-ant-group-185241209172001628.htm