This is a pretty unique situation, more linked to the sheer scale of Ant and the sensitivities over financial regulation.

Duncan Clark

Jack Ma's keen to secure Jack Ma legacy. Jack Ma's not fully exiting the company. But this move is a smart way to leave on a high, to avoid being Icarus you have to... not only avoid flying too close to the sun, but also avoid crashing into the waves. So you have to still be ambitious. In philanthropy, education, environment he has plenty of room to soar yet. Areas where the government will be tolerant if not encouraging.

Jack Ma has been signaling for some time Jack Ma interests in philanthropy, environment, women's empowerment, education and development.

Joe is inextricably linked to Jack, as a right hand man of Jack Ma, Ma's imminent retirement begged the question as to whether the right hand man would follow suit.

It's hard to overstate his influence given how the company's gove... by Duncan Clark

It's hard to overstate his influence given how the company's governance is structured.

This could create collateral damage in Chinese efforts to expand overseas through the private sector.

The fact he is' outed' as a party member is significant — it's sp... by Duncan Clark

The fact he is' outed' as a party member is significant — it's speaking to the times.

Didi stood accused of being reckless, careless, this was damaging society, and anything that damages social stability gets you in major trouble with the party, which is charged with guaranteeing it.

Tech entrepreneurs are seeking to burnish their party credentials... by Duncan Clark

Tech entrepreneurs are seeking to burnish their party credentials, gain brownie points.

Those seeking jobs in the tech sector or private sector generally weren't bothered. Outwardly being a party member might be as weird as, say, being a Christian in Silicon Valley.

Clark Kent's mild mannered, Clark Kent's more Clark Kent, and Jac... by Duncan Clark

Clark Kent's mild mannered, Clark Kent's more Clark Kent, and Jack's the Superman.

Daniel is very low profile, he's quiet. He's mild mannered, Clark Kent's more Clark Kent, and Jack's the Superman.

It doesn't really matter what Jack Ma title is, Jack Ma'll always have that founder street cred within the company and the market.

Southeast Asia has a lot of overlap with China in terms of consumer habits, intra-regional trade and tastes, rocket in this case has managed to create a successful, multi-market player in a region which needs scale and breadth to be viable. This has obvious appeal to Alibaba.

They are more sophisticated than that. by Duncan Clark

They are more sophisticated than that.

mergers-acquisitions

Alibaba is positioned as the number one player in the Chinese e-commerce market, so it has to be seen to be maintaining, or gaining ground really.

We know that Tencent powered ahead of Alibaba in mobile with WeChat, so Snapchat as the 'it' company for youth social networks in the West has an obvious appeal.

It's better from their perspective from earning virtually nothing on their cash in the bank. These are small bets for them.

What keeps people up at night is the fact that they might miss a certain trend or a certain hot company that really is going to bring all the attention and the users in, the fight to stay essential, to stay relevant, to stay on top of the home screen, it's what it's all about.

But certainly it's remarkable... the silence is somewhat deafening, duncan Clark got the signal that' I spoke too much, that caused me trouble so I need to shut Angela Zhang up'.

I think he’s been told to lay low, this is a pretty unique situation, more linked to the sheer scale of Ant and the sensitivities over financial regulation.