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China's best-known tech entrepreneur Jack Ma, founder of online shopping giant Alibaba, appears to be hatching plans in a new sector: pre-cooked food.

In the news: Ma founded the company Hangzhou Ma's Kitchen Food in his hometown, with an initial capital of 10 million yuan, or some 1.3 million euros, several media reported based on local company databases.

  • Its main business would be selling plus importing and exporting packaged pre-cooked meals based on agricultural products.
  • Bells were ringing among the many fans of Ma, who has legendary status due to the success of Alibaba, when it was revealed that the main shareholder of the new food company was Hangzhou Dajingtou No. 22 Arts and Culture, a financial vehicle of Ma.

Sustainable food

More background: Ma has long been interested in agriculture, horticulture and fish farming.

  • Ma made a kind of international study tour around sustainable food this year and last, which took him to Wageningen, the Netherlands, among other places. In Japan, he visited Kindai University's aquaculture research facility.
  • Although little more is yet known than official registration, speculation is already buzzing about the scope of Ma's new company. Some are not ruling out the possibility that he wants to take a bite out of China's market for ready meals.
  • Experts say that has grown into a rapidly expanding billion-dollar business since the corona pandemic. Since Ma knows all about e-commerce and logistics from his Alibaba past, the potential innovations he can launch are already being eagerly awaited.

What came before: Ma is no longer the rock star entrepreneur of yesteryear and remains more in the background.

  • The Chinese government forced Ma to cancel the super IPO of fintech company Ant (known for Alipay) in 2020. That was interpreted as a signal from Beijing: tech entrepreneurs needed to stay well aware of who is in charge in China.
  • Earlier this year, relations came to a thaw. Ma also returned to "his" Hangzhou after more than a year of wanderings, during which he was spotted in Tokyo, among other places. Ma also remains a major shareholder in Alibaba, which he founded in 1999 (resume).

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