Daily US Times: Chinese business tycoon and Alibaba Group founder Jack Ma has made his first appearance since Chinese regulators cracked down on his business empire.
His absence had sparked speculation over his whereabouts amid increasing official scrutiny of his businesses.
According to local government media, Mr Ma met 100 rural teachers in China via a video meeting on Wednesday.
After the news came out, Alibaba shares surged 5% on Hong Kong’s stock exchange.
Tianmu News, a media backed by the provincial Zhejiang government, first reported that the billionaire addressed the teachers as part of one of his charity foundation’s initiatives.
The annual event is usually hosted in the resort city of Sanya, but was held online this year because of coronavirus restrictions.
“We cannot meet in Sanya due to the epidemic,” Mr Ma said in the speech.
He added: “When the epidemic is over, we must find time to make up for everyone’s trip to Sanya, and then we will meet again!”
In the video, the Chinese billionaire was dressed in a blue pullover and spoke directly to the camera from a room with grey marble walls and a striped carpet.
It is unclear from the video or the Tianmu News article where he was speaking from.
Last month, the central bank of China hauled in executives from Ant Group and ordered a major shake-up of the company’s operations.
Jack Ma is a founder and key shareholder of Ant Group, which is the biggest payments provider in China.
You may read: US: China ‘committed genocide against Uighurs’