with global investors still reeling, jack ma seemed to suddenly disappear. there are growing questions about the whereabouts of chinese billionaire jack ma. where is jack ma. ma can given a speech accusing china s regulators of sty felling innovation in a roomful of government officials only ten days before ant s planned ipo. you can t do that in china. if jack ma believed that he could challenge the chinese political leadership and ultimately the party itself then the entire edifice of control in china was at risk. the communist party had allowed ant group and other private tech companies to grow largely unregulated for a decade. they had created a capitalist free for all, a wild west in which the government had little say. companies like ant are perceived to have amassed huge power. they have got the data. they have got the technology.