Sheet South China Morning Post reported that billionaire Jack Ma, founder of Alibaba Group (China), gave a rare speech at the 20th anniversary of the establishment 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 spoke 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 left 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 lucky to grasp the opportunities it brought. From today’s perspective, the changes brought by artificial intelligence (AI) in the next 20 years will go beyond people’s imagination and AI will bring about a greater era,” said Mr. Jack Ma.
The billionaire believes that AI will change everything, but that doesn’t mean it can decide everything. “Technology is important, but the truth that determines success or failure is whether we can create truly valuable and unique things in the coming era,” he said.
The speech was given just a few hours after Ant Group announced that Mr. Eric Jing would cede the position of Chief Executive Officer (CEO) to Chief Financial Officer Cyril Han from March 2025 to focus on the role of chairman.
Chinese authorities suddenly stopped Ant’s IPO in November 2020 and ordered the group to completely reform its business model to comply with financial regulations. Over the past few years, Ant Group has restructured its apparatus and is counting on technological and AI breakthroughs to restore profit growth, according to Bloomberg. Ant Group’s profits rose nearly 193% in the quarter ended June, reversing a year-long decline.
