Zhu Hengpeng allegedly criticised China’s president and his economic policies, and has now gone missing, the Wall Street Journal reported

Along with Ma, Alibaba chairman Joe Tsai also purchased about $151 million worth of Alibaba's US-traded shares

The People’s Bank of China has confirmed the payment app no longer has a controller after Ma gave up most of his voting rights

Just hours before the firm pulled its cloud unit’s listing, it had emerged Ma's family trust intended to sell 10 million American depository shares

"The shelving is a surprise and makes us wonder if there are issues behind the scenes that we aren't aware of," one analyst said, but news that Jack Ma's family trust was selling shares likely also hurt the stock

Eddie Wu, a long-time lieutenant of former Alibaba chief Jack Ma, takes charge of the company amid its biggest organisational restructure of its 24-year history

Once an illustrious Chinese technology giant, Ant is emerging from a near three-year-long regulatory crackdown that started with the shelving of its planned mega listing in 2020

Investors are now hoping the strict rules that have stymied growth since late 2020 will start to ease, after China's central bank slapped a nearly $1 billion fine on Ant Group

The news of Jack Ma’s return comes on the final day of the China Development forum, a government-funded event being held in Beijing