Jack Ma’s first trip abroad in over a year saw Alibaba gain $42b in value

Jack Ma’s first trip abroad in over a year saw Alibaba gain $42b in value

FILE PHOTO: Jack Ma, founder and executive chairman of China's Alibaba Group, speaks in front of a picture of SoftBank's human-like robot named 'pepper' during a news conference in Chiba, Japan, June 18, 2015. REUTERS/Yuya Shino/File Photo/File Photo

This was supposed to be Jack Ma‘s finest hour: a year ago to the day, his Ant Group was meant to go public in a $37 billion blaze of glory. Instead Beijing reined in his empire, abruptly clipping the wings of corporate China’s biggest star.