- Title: Profile of executive chairman of Alibaba Group Jack Ma
- Date: 8th September 2018
- Summary: HANGZHOU CITY, ZHEJIANG PROVINCE, CHINA (FILE - JULY 6, 2016) (REUTERS) ****WARNING: CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY*** CARS ON STAGE FOUNDER AND EXECUTIVE CHAIRMAN OF ALIBABA GROUP, JACK MA (L), TALKING ON STAGE WITH OTHERS (SOUNDBITE) (Mandarin) FOUNDER AND EXECUTIVE CHAIRMAN OF ALIBABA GROUP, JACK MA, SAYING: "I think all cars should have driverless function in the future, but it doesn't mean that all cars in the future must be intelligentized. Cars will be the most important partner for human for sure. Take today's mobile phones for example, 80 percent of the mobile phone's functions have no relation with making phone calls or communication after adding operating system. We believe 80 percent of the cars' functions in the future have no connection with traffic. So this path is an epoch-making start." AUDIENCE FILMING PEOPLE ON STAGE MA AND OTHERS POSING FOR PHOTOS Chinese tech firm Alibaba's internet-connected car will set the Chinese e-commerce giant up to quickly introduce driverless vehicle technology, Chief Technology Officer Wang Jian told Reuters. Alibaba and the country's largest automaker SAIC Motor Corp demonstrated their jointly developed car equipped with the YunOS operating system, which can link up with smart phones, at an event in eastern China's Hangzhou. Alibaba's founder and Executive Chairman Jack Ma expected cars in the future would have more functions that had no relations with traffic. Among major tech companies, Alibaba is relatively late to offer a platform that can link a smart phone to a car, trailing platforms already launched by Alphabet's Google, Apple and Baidu. But the race to commercialise driverless cars is far from over with experts predicting that a fully autonomous car will not hit the market until 2020 or later. BEIJING, CHINA (FILE - AUGUST 30, 2016) (REUTERS) CANADA'S PRIME MINISTER, JUSTIN TRUDEAU, AND MA TAKING SEATS DELEGATES SEATED AND TAKING PHOTO (SOUNDBITE) (English) CANADA'S PRIME MINISTER, JUSTIN TRUDEAU, SAYING: "My government believes very very much in the importance of investing in infrastructure and that's one of the reasons why we're looking very favourably at the possibility of joining the AIIB." TRUDEAU AND MA SHAKING HANDS AND WALKING AWAY Ma had a discussion with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau when Trudeau met with local entrepreneurs just after his arrival in China for his first official visit as Prime Minister. Canada is looking positively at plans to join the Chinese-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, Trudeau said. BEIJING, CHINA (FILE - OCTOBER 9, 2016) (REUTERS) SCREEN SHOWING WORDS, READING (English and Chinese): "THIS WORLD IS MORE GIANT THAN YOU CAN IMAGINE" SCREEN SHOWING LOGOS OF ALIBABA PICTURES AND AMBLIN PARTNERS AND WORDS READING (English): "THIS WORLD IS MORE GIANT THAN YOU CAN IMAGINE" (SOUNDBITE) (English) EXECUTIVE CHAIRMAN OF ALIBABA GROUP, JACK MA, SAYING: (WHILE MOVIE DIRECTOR STEVEN SPIELBERG SITS NEXT TO HIM ON STAGE) "I think, I heard a lot of people say, the movie industry is dead. I think that's lack of imagination. Think about movie, technology is going to be giving big threat to the current (movie industry), I think also lack of imagination. And I think virtual reality... All the movie cinemas in the future are going to be changed because of technology. So people will definitely have all kinds of experience of watching movie." REPRESENTATIVES FROM ALIBABA PICTURES AND AMBLIN PARTNERS PUTTING CHINESE SEALS Steven Spielberg's Amblin Partners and Alibaba Pictures Group Ltd, the film studio unit of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd, said they will co-produce and finance films for global and Chinese audiences. They will also collaborate on the marketing, distribution and merchandising of Amblin Partner films in China, the companies said in a joint statement. Amblin Partners creates film, television and digital content under the Amblin Entertainment, DreamWorks Pictures and Participant Media brands. Hong Kong-listed Alibaba Pictures has yet to release any films, although the company formerly known as ChinaVision Media Group Ltd has several projects in production. Alibaba Pictures began investing in Hollywood films in 2015 with its stake in 'Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation'. Billionaire Jack Ma's Alibaba Group paid about $800 million for a controlling stake in ChinaVision Media in 2014. The company later became known as Alibaba Pictures. The investment was part of a wave of acquisitions by big Chinese companies looking to expand their Hollywood footprint while bringing more Western films to China, set to soon surpass the United States as the world's biggest movie market. SHENZHEN, CHINA (FILE - NOVEMBER 11, 2016) (REUTERS) SCREEN SHOWING LOGO OF SINGLE'S DAY SHOPPING FESTIVAL / NUMBER OF TOTAL SALES ON ALIBABA ROLLING ON SCREEN SCREEN SHOWING TIMING SCREEN SHOWING TOTAL GROSS MERCHANDISE VOLUME EXCEEDED RMB 1 BILLION IN 52 SECONDS Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba generated more than $5.2 billion in gross merchandise volume (GMV) within the first hour of its annual China's Singles' Day shopping festival, CEO of Alibaba Group Zhang Yong said. The one-day event, held annually on November 11, sees billions of dollars of goods sold via Alibaba's Tmall platform at steep discounts, and is a barometer for the firm's performance. The firm, headed by billionaire businessman Jack Ma, plans to expand Singles' Day sales globally this year, opening up Hong Kong and Taiwan as the first markets outside China where consumers will be able to buy international products via Tmall. This year's event featured a performance by Katy Perry, virtual reality shopping, and a live-streamed fashion show in Shanghai allowing viewers to pre-order items as they appear on the catwalk, the firm said. The celebration, launched seven years ago by Alibaba, has already eclipsed the combined sales of the equivalent events in the United States: Cyber Monday and Black Friday.
- Embargoed: 22nd September 2018 05:13
- Keywords: Jack Ma China Alibaba Ma Yun
- Location: HANGZHOU, ZHEJIANG PROVINCE, QINGYUAN CITY, GUANGDONG PROVINCE, BEIJING, SHENZHEN, BOAO, HAINAN PROVINCE, CHINA/ NEW YORK, NEW YORK, SEATTLE, WASHINGTON, UNITED STATES/ SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA/ MANILA, PHILIPPINES/ DAVOS, SWITZERLAND
- City: HANGZHOU, ZHEJIANG PROVINCE, QINGYUAN CITY, GUANGDONG PROVINCE, BEIJING, SHENZHEN, BOAO, HAINAN PROVINCE, CHINA/ NEW YORK, NEW YORK, SEATTLE, WASHINGTON, UNITED STATES/ SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA/ MANILA, PHILIPPINES/ DAVOS, SWITZERLAND
- Country: China
- Reuters ID: LVA00B8WSOAPX
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.'s co-founder and executive chairman, Jack Ma, will retire from the e-commerce company on Monday, as the former English teacher seeks to focus on philanthropy in education, the New York Times reported.
Ma, one of China's best known corporate leaders, will remain on the company's board of directors and continue to mentor the company's management, the New York Times said on Friday.
It was not immediately clear whether the company will appoint a new chairman. Ma, who founded Alibaba in 1999, stepped down as chief executive in 2013. He currently serves as the company's international face at top political and business's events.
Alibaba did not respond to requests for comment.
Ma, who is China's third richest person with a net worth of $36.6 billion according to Forbes magazine, was quoted by the New York Times as saying that his retirement is not the end of an era, but "the beginning of an era."
Ma, who turns 54 on Monday, currently oversees a number of charitable projects in education and environmental fields. He is a cult figure in China's internet industry and has attracted a large following among entrepreneurs and in pop culture alike. At events he is often met with screaming fans.
Ma also keeps a high international profile, frequently inviting global leaders to the company's Hangzhou headquarters. Last year he met with U.S. President Donald Trump, who described him as "smart" and "open minded."
Alibaba was founded by 18 people led by Ma. China's biggest e-commerce firm, it now has more than 66,000 full-time employees, according to the company's latest annual filing.
The company had a market value of about $420 billion as of Friday's close. Ma also controls Ant Financial, which was valued at about $150 billion after a recent fundraising round. - Copyright Holder: FILE REUTERS (CAN SELL)
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