Alibaba founder Jack Ma missing for over two months now

Chinese tech billionaire and the founder of Alibaba, Jack Ma, has vanished from the public eye for over two months after he came in conflict with President Xi Jinping-led Central Communist Party government.

Concern over his unavailability in the public sphere peaked recently after he failed to make an appearance as scheduled in the final episode of his own talent show 'America's Business Heroes'.

One of China's unusually vocal and outspoken tycoons, Ma flayed the CCP government’s 'pawnshop' financial regulators and state-owned banks in an incendiary speech in Shanghai back in October. Further, calling for reform of a system that 'stifled business innovation', he likened global banking regulations to an 'old people's club'. 

The speech angered the Chinese government, which viewed Ma's criticisms as an attack on the authority of the Communist Party, and led to its extraordinary clampdown on Ma's business activities.

In November, officials in Beijing reprimanded Ma and suspended the blockbuster $37billion initial public offering of his Ant Group on the direct order of President Jinping, the Wall Street Journal reported.

He is one of China’s wealthiest men and his work for the UN and global charity activities in recent years has brought a softer edge to China’s global image