Xi Jinping Removes Jack Ma's Name From China's Entrepreneur Leaders List

JAKARTA - Recently, Jack Ma's name was not included in the list of Chinese entrepreneurial leaders as a result of criticizing the government's financial system. This causes losses to the company.

According to a Shanghai Securities News report, Jack Ma's name was not on the list. On the other hand, Ren Zhengfei (Huawei boss), Lei Jun (Xiaomi Corp.), and Wang Chuanfu (BYD Company) received praise from Xi Jinping for their contribution to the country.

Previously, Jack Ma had criticized the government's financial system in 2020. At that time, Ma said that the financial system was holding back business innovation. He also added that the banking system is similar to an "old people's club" and has a "pawnshop" mentality.

The criticism provoked anger from Chinese officials. Ma was accused of attacking the Chinese Communist Party. This has an impact on Xi Jinping's decision to stop the initial public offering of Ant Group which amounts to US 37 billion (around Rp. 14 trillion).

The information was disclosed by one of the Chinese officials who cannot be named. He informed the Wall Street Journal in November, 2020.

Based on the report, Xi Jinping instructed Chinese regulators to carry out an investigation with the aim of stopping the offering of shares in Jack Ma's fintech company, Ant Group. The government also accuses Alibaba of monopoly.

For information, Ant Group is China's largest fintech company that can affect the country's financial system. The most widely used service from this company is the digital wallet service for online transactions and investments, namely Alipay.