Billionaire Jack Ma, founder of Chinese tech giant Alibaba,
has been made an honorary professor of business at a top Hong Kong university,
the school announced on Friday.
The appointment comes weeks afer the billionaire made a rare
public appearance in China following his fall from grace during a government
crackdown on the tech industry over two years ago.
Ma has kept a low profile since late 2020, when a speech he
made attacking Chinese regulators was followed by Beijing pulling the plug on a
planned IPO by Alibaba afiliate Ant Group.
A record fine of $2.75 billion was later imposed on Alibaba
for alleged unfair business practices.
The University of Hong Kong on Friday said Ma had accepted
an honorary professorship from its business school.
A spokesperson for the institution said it welcomed Ma
sharing “his rich knowledge and experience in business innovation and
development”.
The professorship carries a three-year term ending in March
2026, according to local media. The school’s website now contains a profile of
Ma highlighting his expertise in “management and strategy”.
In 2018 the same university awarded Ma an honorary
doctorate.
However, Ma has “no plans for public lectures or speeches”,
according to the South China Morning Post, a Hong Kong-based English-language
newspaper wholly owned by Alibaba.
The Jack Ma Foundation, a charitable organisation set up by
the billionaire in 2014, told the Post that “afer a hiatus from the world of
education, Mr Ma looks forward to returning to campus life”.
Ma previously taught English for eight years at Hangzhou
Dianzi University in the eastern Chinese province of Zhejiang before he
launched Alibaba.
He also founded in 2015 a centre for entrepreneurship in
Zhejiang along with several Chinese business heavyweights.
That institution was originally called Hupan University but
had the term “university” removed from its name in 2021 amid Ma’s spat with
Chinese authorities.
Ma has been spotted in a number of locations around the
world over the past two years, including on the Spanish island of Mallorca, and
was reportedly living in Japan for much of 2022. AFP
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