Chinese billionaire Jack Ma.
Jack Ma, a Chinese billionaire, who came to Nepal on Tuesday, left for Pakistan by a chartered flight after holding business meetings and visiting some heritage sites in Nepal.
Jack Ma, who landed in Kathmandu at 1:30 pm on Tuesday, flew to Lahore, Pakistan at 11:25 am on Thursday. Jack Ma came to Nepal via a flight of Boeing 737 MAX-8 of Jet Aviation Business Jets (Hong Kong) Limited.
Along with Jack Ma on the chartered ship were Dennis Chen, Wu Ming, Paul Jackson, Chen Si, Kim Elgard, Julia Li Ning, and Pei Wang.
According to the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) Assistant Spokesperson Gyanendra Bhul, the Chinese billionaire landed at Tribhuvan International Airport from Bangladesh's Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport, and from here he left for Pakistan's Allama Iqbal International Airport.
Arriving in Nepal on Tuesday afternoon, he had booked suites at The Dwarika's Hotel, Soaltee Hotel, and Marriott Hotels. But he chose Dwarika's Hotel for his stay in Kathmandu. It is said that he took lunch at Marriott Hotel in Naxal.
He stayed in the Royal Suite which cost 3 thousand dollars per night. At The Dwarika's Hotel, he also held separate meetings with some of the third-rung leaders, including a 'lunch meeting'.
Finally, the meeting with the Prime Minister and Finance Minister was canceled
It is natural to expect that Jack Ma, who supported Nepal during the Covid-19 pandemic and other times as well, would hold a meeting with the Prime Minister and the Finance Minister during his Nepal visit. After he arrived in Kathmandu on Tuesday, preparations were made for such a meeting, accordingly.
Jack Ma's rare visit to Nepal has ended without even a courtesy meeting with the Prime Minister. According to highly-placed sources, it was Binod Chaudhary who was active in arranging meetings between Jack Ma and Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' and Finance Minister Prakash Sharan Mahat. But at the last minute, the meeting was canceled.
According to sources, the meeting between Ma and the Prime Minister and the Finance Minister was canceled after the Chinese and Indian sides signaled not to hold meetings with Ma.
"The meeting with Jack Ma was scheduled for Tuesday itself, but it was not possible after getting a signal not to meet," the source told Nepalkhabar.
According to highly-placed sources, Prime Minister Prachanda from the Chinese side and Finance Minister Mahat from the Indian side were instructed not to hold formal meetings with Ma.
China turned against Jack Ma after he criticized China's financial regulatory body.
Jack Ma landed in Kathmandu by a Boeing 737 MAX-8 of Jet Aviation Business Jets (Hong Kong) Ltd. (Photo:Roshan Khadka)
Bikram Pandey's company facilitated the flight
Nepal Aviation Pvt. Ltd., which provides international chartered flight services in Nepal, took permission for Boeing charter from Nepal Civil Aviation Authority on June 21. Bikram Pandey is the chairman of Nepal Aviation Pvt Ltd. The authority had given permission for the chartered flight only a day before Jack Ma arrived in Nepal.
General Manager of Nepal Aviation Pvt. Ltd. Satish Neupane said that they have facilitated the chartered flight for Jack Ma.
"Our company has facilitated the chartered flight of his team," General Manager Neupane told Nepalkhabar, "The flight was called a commercial trip."
Jack Ma was spotted with heritage expert Anil Chitrakar in Bhaktapur
Jack Ma did not ask for security from the Nepal Police, visited Swayambhunath and Bhaktapur
Ma did not formally request security from the Nepal Police when he spent about 70 hours in Nepal.
Nepal Police Central Spokesperson Kuber Kadayat said Jack Ma did not request security.
Along with his team members, Jack Ma reached Kalimati Vegetable Market at 12:30 noon.
Jack Ma also owns China's digital payment platform Alipay Global Merchant Portal. Reaching the Kalimati Vegetable Market, he also talked to some traders and showed interest in an online payment system.
After spending about 15 minutes at the Kalimati Vegetable Market, he left for Swayambhunath and had a view of Kathmandu, the police said.
Jack Ma also visited a Buddhist Stupa and Bhaktapur Durbar Square. His photo with heritage expert Anil Chitrakar has been released in Bhaktapur.
Nirvana Chaudhary, Director of Chaudhary Group in Kathmandu in December 2015, with Jack Ma
Jack Ma had lunch at Binod Chaudhary's house
Jack Ma, who reached Swayambhu from Kalimati Market, had 'lunch' at Ravi Bhawan-based house of Nepal's dollar billionaire Binod Chaudhary on Wednesday. Jack Ma has a good relationship with the Chaudhary Group.
"After reaching Swayambhu, he had lunch at Binod Chaudhary's house," the source said, "four people including Jack Ma discussed business and foundation issues with Chaudhary."
Jack Ma spent about three hours at the house of Chaudhary, who is also an MP. Sources informed that he also shared the experience of visiting Kalimati Vegetable Market and Swayambhunath.
Jack Ma has said that he will come to Nepal again in the winter during the meeting with members of the Chaudhary Group.
Jack Ma's business connections in Nepal
Born in 1964, Jack Ma initially opened Haibo Translation Agency, an English language translation agency. In 1996, he established himself as a successful businessman with the opening of an internet website-making company.
Jack Ma, the world's richest man, also has investments in Nepal. With the purchase of Daraz, an online shopping company, he is professionally connected to Nepal.
Established as an e-commerce platform, Daraz is also popular in Nepal. Although Daraz was founded in Pakistan in 2012, Jack Ma bought the company five years ago.
Currently, Daraz is also operating in Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Myanmar. Jack Ma owns the South China Morning Post, Hong Kong's largest and oldest media outlet.
Jack Ma is the fourth richest person in China and the 39th richest person in the world. Ma has a net worth of US$34.5 billion.
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