One of China’s most successful entrepreneurs, Mr Ma appears to have fallen foul of its leaders after he criticised the country’s regulators and its state-owned banks in late October.

In a speech in Shanghai, he called for reform of the regulatory system, which he said was stifling innovation.

About a week later, the Shanghai Stock Exchange ordered a US$37 billion initial public offering of Ant , a technology firm co-founded Mr Ma, to be suspended. Mr Ma reportedly hasn’t been seen in public since then.

In late December, Chinese authorities announced an investigation into Alibaba for suspected monopolistic behaviour, and ordered Ant to restructure its operations to meet regulatory guidelines.

Chinese authorities are trying to tighten oversight of the country’s sector, but are also seen as wanting to rein in the huge influence of private tech giants.

Mr Ma is a popular figure in China, and one of the country’s best-known businesspeople abroad. Formerly an English teacher, he founded Alibaba in 1999, which became China’s biggest online ecommerce company. He stepped down as the company’s chairman in 2019, but is still one of its largest shareholders.