China's best known businessman was not mentioned in an
front-page article published by the Shanghai Securities News. Instead Huawei
Technologies' Ren Zhengfei, Xiaomi Corp's Lei Jun, and BYD's Wang Chuanfu were
lauded for their contributions.
It was published on Tuesday when Alibaba will also report
its latest quarterly earnings. The e-commerce giant did not immediately respond
to a request for comment.
The catalyst for Ma's current woes was an October 24 speech
in which he blasted China's regulatory system, leading to the suspension of his
Ant Group's $37 billion IPO just days before the fintech giant's listing.
Regulators have since launched an anti-trust probe into the
tech sector with Alibaba taking much of the heat, while tighter regulations for
Ant Group are also being considered.
Ma, who is not known for shying away from the limelight,
subsequently disappeared from the public eye for about three months, triggering
frenzied speculation about his whereabouts. He re-emerged last month with a
50-second video appearance.
The Shanghai Securities News said that while some of the
entrepreneurs it praised had once behaved like "reckless heroes" in
their efforts to break away from an old, rigid economic system, they now led
"a group of companies that respected the rules of development and abided
by market rules."
© Reuters