Recently, news of Jack Ma vacationing in Spain has attracted widespread attention, with many people discussing it. In the comments section, many voices are similar to those two years ago following Jack Ma's speech at the financial summit, although this time the voices are much quieter. This inevitably reminds people of two years ago when, after Jack Ma's speech at the financial summit, public opinion about him changed. At that time, it seemed as if Jack Ma had stepped down from his pedestal; his 'outlandish remarks' appeared to cost him dearly. Ant Group's IPO plan has yet to be restarted, and Alibaba's stock price has significantly dropped from its peak, with a market value evaporating over 4 trillion. Additionally, Hupan University, which Jack Ma had high hopes for, has also closed, which is undoubtedly a huge blow for him, as he has lost an important channel for establishing top business resources. Official media have given a conclusive evaluation: there is no era without Jack Ma, only an era defined by Jack Ma. Subsequently, the state launched the most severe internet anti-monopoly investigation in history, strictly rectifying internet financial enterprises and introducing policies for common prosperity, placing technological innovation at the core of economic development. All of this seems to have begun with Jack Ma's speech. Some might question whether Jack Ma's speech really had such a significant impact? Let us recall the 'Waterloo' incident that Jack Ma encountered and the true reasons for his early retirement. Ant Group's interest rates are higher than those of banks, while banks' technological capabilities are not inferior to those of Ant Group.
There are two main reasons:
1. Banks lack the efficient financial technology and rich 'data pool' that Ant Group possesses—big data and cloud computing are crucial to Ant Group's business. They can build risk control models based on users' consumption habits and other information, and the technological support of Sesame Credit is also based on big data and cloud computing, where Alibaba is leading in technology.
2. The mission of banks is not merely to profit, but also to stabilize the financial system. Banks serve individual users, corporate users, and even government users, and their business types are much more complex than those of Ant Group. The big data of banks can also reflect the development status of the industry, which has an important impact on the development of corporate and government users. From a strategic perspective, banks are an important component of the national economy, while Ant Group does not have this role. Jack Ma's speech exposed a tendency of Ant Group: it wants to carry out financial innovation, which will inevitably penetrate deeper into the economy, undoubtedly attracting the attention of high-level officials. Jack Ma has a complex identity; he is not only a capitalist, with Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Shanghai as his base, but also has influence in the internet industry. His second identity is that of a president, specifically the president of Hupan University. This school aims to cultivate business elites, who will become Jack Ma's network after graduation. Here, I want to reiterate a viewpoint from two years ago: among the internet technology companies that have developed in China over the past two decades, the entrepreneurs I truly admire are only Jack Ma and Ren Zhengfei. They have established ecological enterprises, providing excellent examples for industry reshaping and exploration of business models. Ecological enterprises can leverage the development of the entire industry, reshaping the upstream and downstream, allowing many people and companies in society to participate. Alibaba has driven the development of many small and medium-sized enterprises, having a profound impact on multiple industries such as logistics, retail, big data, and cloud computing; Huawei has promoted the development of China's electronic information industry, positively impacting the telecommunications and domestic ICT industries, and further promoting the country's emphasis on technological innovation. Compared to other internet giants or tech giants, these companies have played a greater role in their own profitability during the nearly twenty years of development; they cannot drive large numbers of upstream and downstream enterprises, nor can they promote profound development in a particular industry, and sometimes they may even become obstacles to innovation. For this reason, two years ago I believed that Jack Ma should not be completely denied, nor should he be 'retired'. But two years later, I believe everything is for the best. Jack Ma will eventually receive an objective evaluation, and retreating from the spotlight to embrace nature may not be a bad thing.
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