The Chinese authorities’ war with Alibaba founder Jack Ma scared Chinese entrepreneurs. Because of this, Beijing’s movement towards the status of a world leader in technology may slow down, which will hit the economy, writes Bloomberg.
The head of one of the startups said that he no longer wants to achieve a business scale comparable to Alibaba. He fears unwanted attention from the government. Another businessman decided to give up public speaking and now wanted to develop his robotics business outside the country.
Investors and businesses are concerned about the lack of transparency and the harsh suppression of dissent. “The Jack Ma incident shows that there is no safety for anyone,” one entrepreneur told the publication.
Earlier it became known that the reason for the enmity, due to which the Chinese authorities blocked the initial public offering of Ant Group (a subsidiary of Alibaba), could be an investigation into the possible beneficiaries of the transaction. Among them were people associated with political clans that are displeasing to the current government. In February, Ant Group and Chinese regulators agreed on a restructuring plan that will turn the company into a financial holding.
In February, the Chinese regulator imposed new restrictions on banks and financial institutions working with online microlenders, including those led by the Ant Group.