Where is Jack Ma?

ONE of China's most successful entrepreneurs Jack Ma has not been seen in public for the past two months, raising speculation of his whereabouts.

It was reported that the 56-year-old Alibaba founder also failed to appear in the final episode of his own talent show, Africa’s Business Heroes, a philanthropic program established by Ma under Jack Ma Foundation's flagship.

Speculation is rife that his withdrawal from public life may be linked to a fallout with the Chinese government.

In November, the Wall Street Journal reported that China’s President Xi Jinping personally ordered the suspension of Ma’s financial tech company Ant Group listing on the Shanghai and Hong Kong exchanges in a record $37 billion deal.

The suspension came merely days after Ma gave a speech at a financial forum in Shanghai, where he criticised the country's financial watchdog and banks, among others, taking a shot at China’s regulatory system for stifling innovation.

After the suspension, Bloomberg reported that Ma was advised by the Chinese government to remain in the country.

On Dec 24, Chinese regulators launched an anti-monopoly investigation into Alibaba Group Holdings. Beijing also ordered Ant Group to scale back its operations.

The Chinese Communist Party, it appears, is trying to reign in the tech titan’s sprawling financial empire.

Ant Group said it is working on meeting all the regulatory requirements.

Ma's last tweet was on October 10.