Egypt fast-tracks recycling plant to turn Suez Canal into 'green canal'    Global pressure mounts on Israel as Gaza death toll surges, war deepens    Egypt targets 7.7% AI contribution to GDP by 2030: Communications Minister    Irrigation Minister highlights Egypt's water challenges, innovation efforts at DAAD centenary celebration    Egypt discusses strengthening agricultural ties, investment opportunities with Indian delegation    Al-Sisi welcomes Spain's monarch in historic first visit, with Gaza, regional peace in focus    Cairo governor briefs PM on Khan el-Khalili, Rameses Square development    El Gouna Film Festival's 8th edition to coincide with UN's 80th anniversary    Egypt expands medical, humanitarian support for Gaza patients    Egypt condemns Israeli offensive in Gaza City, warns of grave regional consequences    Cairo University, Roche Diagnostics inaugurate automated lab at Qasr El-Ainy    Egypt investigates disappearance of ancient bracelet from Egyptian Museum in Tahrir    Egypt launches international architecture academy with UNESCO, European partners    Egypt signs MoUs with 3 European universities to advance architecture, urban studies    Egypt's Sisi, Qatar's Emir condemn Israeli strikes, call for Gaza ceasefire    Egypt condemns terrorist attack in northwest Pakistan    Egyptian pound ends week lower against US dollar – CBE    Egypt hosts G20 meeting for 1st time outside member states    Egypt to tighten waste rules, cut rice straw fees to curb pollution    Egypt seeks Indian expertise to boost pharmaceutical industry    Egypt prepares unified stance ahead of COP30 in Brazil    Egypt harvests 315,000 cubic metres of rainwater in Sinai as part of flash flood protection measures    Al-Sisi says any party thinking Egypt will neglect water rights is 'completely mistaken'    Egyptian, Ugandan Presidents open business forum to boost trade    Egypt's Sisi, Uganda's Museveni discuss boosting ties    Egypt's Sisi warns against unilateral Nile measures, reaffirms Egypt's water security stance    Greco-Roman rock-cut tombs unearthed in Egypt's Aswan    Egypt reveals heritage e-training portal    Sisi launches new support initiative for families of war, terrorism victims    Egypt expands e-ticketing to 110 heritage sites, adds self-service kiosks at Saqqara    Palm Hills Squash Open debuts with 48 international stars, $250,000 prize pool    On Sport to broadcast Pan Arab Golf Championship for Juniors and Ladies in Egypt    Golf Festival in Cairo to mark Arab Golf Federation's 50th anniversary    Germany among EU's priciest labour markets – official data    Paris Olympic gold '24 medals hit record value    A minute of silence for Egyptian sports    Russia says it's in sync with US, China, Pakistan on Taliban    It's a bit frustrating to draw at home: Real Madrid keeper after Villarreal game    Shoukry reviews with Guterres Egypt's efforts to achieve SDGs, promote human rights    Sudan says countries must cooperate on vaccines    Johnson & Johnson: Second shot boosts antibodies and protection against COVID-19    Egypt to tax bloggers, YouTubers    Egypt's FM asserts importance of stability in Libya, holding elections as scheduled    We mustn't lose touch: Muller after Bayern win in Bundesliga    Egypt records 36 new deaths from Covid-19, highest since mid June    Egypt sells $3 bln US-dollar dominated eurobonds    Gamal Hanafy's ceramic exhibition at Gezira Arts Centre is a must go    Italian Institute Director Davide Scalmani presents activities of the Cairo Institute for ITALIANA.IT platform    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Alibaba's Jack Ma, China's richest man, plans to retire
Published in Amwal Al Ghad on 08 - 09 - 2018

China's richest man and co-founder of e-commerce giant Alibaba, Jack Ma said on Monday he planned to retire to pursue philanthropy in education, a changing of the guard for the $420 billion internet company.
A former English teacher, Ma started Alibaba in 1999 and built it into one of the world's most consequential e-commerce and digital payments companies, transforming how Chinese people shop and pay for things. That fueled his net worth to more than $40 billion, making him China's richest man. He is revered by many Chinese, some of whom have put his portrait in their homes to worship in the same way that they worship the God of Wealth.
Ma is retiring as China's business environment has soured, with Beijing and state-owned enterprises increasingly playing more interventionist roles with companies. Under President Xi Jinping, China's internet industry has grown and become more important, prompting the government to tighten its leash. The Chinese economy is also facing slowing growth and increasing debt, and the country is embroiled in an escalating trade war with the United States.
In an interview, Ma said his retirement is not the end of an era but “the beginning of an era.” He said he would be spending more of his time and fortune focused on education. “I love education,” he said.
Ma will remain on Alibaba's board of directors and continue to mentor the company's management. Ma turns 54 on Monday, which is also a holiday in China known as Teacher's Day.
The retirement makes Ma one of the first founders among a generation of prominent Chinese internet entrepreneurs to step down from their companies. Firms including Alibaba, Tencent, Baidu and JD.com have flourished in recent years, growing to nearly rival American internet behemoths like Amazon and Google in their size, scope and ambition. For Chinese tycoons to step aside in their 50s is rare; they usually remain at the top of their organizations for many years.
The departure of Ma is likely to jolt China's internet industry, which has been reeling from the arrest last weekend of Liu Qiangdong, the billionaire founder of the online retailer JD.com. Liu, who goes by Richard Liu in the English-speaking world, was arrested on a rape allegation in Minneapolis during a business trip. He was released and has since returned to Beijing, where JD.com is based.
For Alibaba, Ma's retirement completes a transition of power to other executives. Mr. Ma stepped down as Alibaba's chief executive in 2013; the company's current chief executive is Daniel Zhang, who is a candidate to succeed Ma. Yet Ma had remained active as the face of the e-commerce firm, as well as an architect of its long-term strategy. He owns a 6.4 percent stake of Alibaba, according to securities filings.
Ma, a natural salesman and charismatic leader, co-founded Alibaba with 17 others — some of them his students — out of his apartment in Hangzhou in eastern Zhejiang province in 1999.
Alibaba started as an online marketplace for businesses to sell their products to other businesses. But it did not take off until it began the Taobao marketplace in 2003, which merchants used to sell goods directly to consumers. Alibaba later rolled out Alipay, an online payment service, to facilitate transactions in a country where few people had credit cards. Alipay later became Ant Financial, the financial subsidiary that Mr. Ma also controls.
Today, Alibaba's empire encompasses e-commerce, online banking, cloud computing, digital media and entertainment — and even a corporate messaging service similar to Slack. The company owns or holds stakes in some of China's most important media assets, including the Twitter-like social media site Weibo and the Hong Kong-based English-language newspaper The South China Morning Post.
Among China's biggest companies, Alibaba is viewed as one of the firms with the deepest ranks of management talent. Many of the co-founders are still around, and professionals who joined the company later are now in charge.
Last month, Alibaba reported a 60 percent increase in quarterly sales, even as profits fell. The company's annual revenue totals about 250 billion yuan, or $40 billion.
While Alibaba has become dominant in China, it has faced a tougher time expanding internationally. The company has increased its presence outside of China by investing in e-commerce and online finance companies in India and Southeast Asia. But its efforts to muscle into the United States largely have not been successful.
Even after Ma met with President-elect Donald J. Trump in early 2017 and promised to bring one million jobs to the United States, the federal government rejected Ant Financial's bid to acquire the American money transfer company MoneyGram this year over national security concerns.
As Beijing has increased its involvement in the private sector, Ma has shifted what he has said about China's government. He used to say that businesses should be in love with the government but never get married to each other, indicating that an arms-length relationship was preferred.
At a conference last November, Ma was more positive. “There's no country like China in the world,” he said. “With political stability, social safety and 6 percent-plus economic growth, we have the best business environment.”
As Alibaba has flourished, Ma has talked many times about how he did not want to spend his whole life at the company, saying he would retire one day and go back to teaching.
In 2014, he created the Jack Ma Foundation, which has worked to improve education in rural China. Ma's Weibo social media handle is “spokesman for village teachers — Jack Ma.” Within Alibaba, he is known and referred to as “Teacher Ma.”
In an interview with Bloomberg TV this week, Ma signaled he was thinking about focusing more on philanthropy. He cited the Microsoft co-founder and philanthropist Bill Gates as an example.
Ma said he could never be as rich as Gates — but that he could retire earlier than Gates.
Gates stepped down as Microsoft's chairman in 2014, at the age of 58.
Source: The New York Times


Clic here to read the story from its source.