Chinese billionaire Jack Ma creates stir with sudden visit to Pakistan

A stir has been created by the co-founder of Alibaba Group and Chinese billionaire Jack Ma among observers with his sudden and unexpected visit to Pakistan, as reported by the Express Tribune newspaper. The Express Tribune is Pakistan's daily English-language newspaper.

The visit of Jack Ma to Pakistan was confirmed to The Express Tribune by former chairman of the Board of Investment (BOI) Muhammad Azfar Ahsan, stating that the Chinese billionaire reached Lahore on June 29 and stayed there for 23 hours.

During his visit to Pakistan, Jack Ma did not have any interactions with government officials and the media. The billionaire stayed at a private location and departed on June 30 via a private jet. The private jet was owned by Jet Aviation and registered under the name VP-CMA.

Pakistan's good days ahead?

Although the purpose of Jack Ma's visit remains confidential at this point, there remains hope that this is likely yield positive outcomes for Pakistan in the days ahead, as stated by Ahsan, reported The Express Tribune.

A delegation of seven businessmen, which consisted of five Chinese nationals, one Danish individual, and one US citizen, had accompanied Ma. The delegation came to Pakistan from Nepal on a chartered flight from the business aviation sector of Hong Kong.

The social media platforms are filled with speculations about Ma and his team exploring business opportunities in the economically-embattled country, which included meetings with important businessmen and officials from various chambers of commerce and visits to trade centres. However, no officials have made a confirmation regarding any specific meetings or business deals.

In a tweet, Ahsan clarified that the visit of Jack Ma was strictly for personal purposes. He said that, interestingly, even the Chinese embassy was not given details of Ma's visit and engagements in Pakistan.

Speaking to the Express Tribune, P@SHA Chairman Zohaib Khan said, "Although it was a personal visit, it helped enhance Pakistan's reputation from a tourism standpoint."

Khan added that the Pakistan government's authorities should have used the opportunity and arranged a meeting with Jack Ma to gain insights from the billionaire's seasoned experience in the IT world. He said that even one statement from Jack Ma regarding the IT sector of Pakistan would have made a significant impact.