Say no to bribery, Alibaba’s founder Jack Ma warns China’s entrepreneurs
Ma has threatened to expel corrupt members of his group
E-commerce giant Alibaba’s founder Jack Ma has warned businessmen to avoid bribes during a speech at a newly established provincial entrepreneurs’ federation where he has been elected chairman.
Ma said China had paid a “bitter price” over the past few years amid President Xi Jinping’s sweeping corruption crackdown and urged executives not to force the mainland’s future generations to bear similar costs at a meeting in Beijing last weekend, Zhejiang Television’s website cztv.com reported.
“I hope Zheijang business people never engage in any form of bribery, but if any of them do, they must be expelled [from our federation],” Ma told the Third World Zhejiang Entrepreneurs Convention.
In China, guanxi, or connections, are considered very important when doing business, kicking out of the business network could cost dearly to businessmen.
Zhejiang, which is home to Ma and 8 million other entrepreneurs, is regarded on the mainland as the cradle of China’s private enterprises. Businessmen from the province are known for their involvement in startup not only across the nation but around the world.
Ma, an internationally admired Chinese businessman has just been appointed as a business adviser to Britain’s Prime Minister David Cameron.
His election as the federation’s chairman underscored his reputation among private-sector businessmen. .