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Apr 15, 2021 7 tweets 4 min read Read on X
What happened to Jack Ma? Since the tech billionaire annoyed Chinese President Xi Jinping last year, he has almost vanished. But his disappearance is a sign of something much bigger on.ft.com/3aeih7H
Ma founded tech giant Alibaba in 1999. Hundreds of millions of people every day now use his companies’ services for everything from buying coffee to getting loans ft.com/content/1fe055…
Ma’s cult-like following helped him build unrivalled influence for a businessman in China — but President Xi has been tightening control. Billionaires’ run-ins with the state are now so frequent that their new rule is: lie low ft.com/content/1fe055…
Things came to a head last autumn with a speech Ma gave in Shanghai. His comments, setting private enterprise’s interests against those of the state, angered the very top of the Chinese Communist party ft.com/content/1fe055…
After his speech the government called off the $37bn flotation of Ma’s Ant Group. Ma himself lost about $10bn – and then disappeared ft.com/content/1fe055…
The contest between Ma and Xi captures the contradiction at the heart of modern China – the Communist party’s wary embrace of the capitalists who power the country’s economic growth ft.com/content/1fe055…
The question of what is next for Jack Ma is far from certain — but the answer will reveal much about where capitalism in China is heading. Read on to find out more: ft.com/content/1fe055…

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More from @FinancialTimes

Jun 16, 2023
Four FT pieces were recognised at the 2023 Awards for Editorial Excellence by the Society of Publishers in Asia. Read the winning works 👇 (1/5) Image
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The FT once described Crispin Odey as ‘a large puppy in a pinstripe suit’. F​​or three decades he has reigned over London’s hedge fund scene.

At his firm, once one of Europe’s largest hedge fund companies, he found many of his targets ft.com/content/e5d143… Image
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Mar 31, 2023
🧵'Dare to fight' — Xi Jinping used the phrase recently to sum up China's new foreign policy. We break down Beijing's bid to shape the world around its own interests 👇(1/7) on.ft.com/42T0VXA
Xi has adopted a more assertive stance on foreign relations in the past decade, militarising artificial islands in the disputed South China Sea and becoming more aggressive towards Taiwan (2/7) on.ft.com/42T0VXA China has adopted a more assertive stance on foreign relatio
Since 2013, China has sent more diplomatic missions to the Middle East than the west. This month, it convinced Iran and Saudi Arabia to resume diplomatic ties after a seven-year rift (3/7) on.ft.com/42T0VXA Beijing achieved a notable diplomatic success recently by me
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Mar 22, 2023
🧵UBS executives have started trying to sell investors on the benefits of its $3.25bn shotgun marriage with Credit Suisse. Here's what the Swiss bank might look like after it fully takes over its defunct rival 👇 (1/6) on.ft.com/40lq9M8 Chart showing Credit Suisse's tangible book value per share
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Mar 15, 2023
🧵 How is China's economy doing? We break down Beijing's first comprehensive overview of economic activity since it ended its zero-Covid rules in three charts 👇 (1/5) on.ft.com/3ZZiEdQ
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🚘 But there were some weak spots in the positive retail figures. China's car sales contracted 9.4% year on year in January and February, compared with growth of 4.6% in December (3/5) on.ft.com/3ZZiEdQ
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Mar 14, 2023
Silicon Valley Bank imploded last week under the strain of depositors pulling out their money in droves.

How did the chaos unfold? Here is a timeline of what happened 🗓
ft.com/content/56a8df…
Wednesday: Silicon Valley Bank, the US’s 16th-largest lender, said it lost about $1.8bn.

Customers got scared the bank would not be able to pay out their deposits and a bank run started ft.com/content/56a8df…
Thursday:
👉SVB’s share price fell 60%
👉The bank failed to raise capital
👉Customers withdrew $42bn in a single day ft.com/content/56a8df…
Read 7 tweets

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