Chinese billionaire Jack Ma is in Kathmandu; Meeting with PM Pushpa Kamal Dahal

Officials said Chinese billionaire Jack Ma arrived in Nepal’s capital Kathmandu on Tuesday afternoon and is scheduled to meet Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal.

The Alibaba founder arrived with a seven-member team and is staying at a hotel in Kathmandu, the news agency reported.

Jhalakram Adhikari, head of Nepal’s immigration department, said, “He landed in Kathmandu today in his private plane. He said he flew from China to Nepal with an immigration form.”

The Director General of Nepal’s Immigration Department said that Jack Ma has been given a 15-day tourist visa and he is scheduled to meet Nepal’s Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal.

There has been no official announcement regarding the Chinese entrepreneur’s arrival in Kathmandu and he has not sought any security during his stay in the country. The reasons for his visit to Nepal have also not been made public.

The Chinese business tycoon returned to mainland China after spending almost a year abroad.

The cancellation happened because officials were upset over Jack Ma’s comments on a financial forum. Authorities launched an investigation against Alibaba for allegedly engaging in anti-competitive activities on its e-commerce platform, and the company was eventually fined a record-breaking US$2.8 billion, reports the WSJ.

Jack Ma visited Yungu School, a private academy funded by his Alibaba Group in Hangzhou, after his return.

Jack Ma left the leadership of Ant Group in January this year after the company’s shareholders approved a business restructuring. The crackdown on the fintech operations of more than a dozen internet companies was ‘basically’ over, according to the party chief of China’s central bank.