Alibaba chief claims 'good guy' role in Yahoo! rift

Alibaba chief Jack Ma portrayed himself as the good guy in a rift with major stakeholder Yahoo! and suggested the faded Internet star get its own house in order. During an onstage chat at a premier All Things Digital conference in the California resort town of Rancho Palos Verdes, Ma likened meetings with Yahoo! to "peace talks in the United Nations" slowly moving toward an accord. "I'm the good guy," Ma said. "I think I do the right things. Somebody has to take the responsibility to be the leader to make decisions to move things ahead." Yahoo! notified the US Securities and Exchange Commission in May that ownership of Alipay, Alibaba's payment platform, had been shifted to a Chinese firm owned mostly by Alibaba chief executive Ma. Yahoo! said the transfer was done without the knowledge or approval of Alibaba's board of directors or shareholders, which also include Japan's Softbank. But Ma has insisted that investors Yahoo! and Softbank were informed of the transfer of ownership and it was done to comply with Chinese licensing regulations. "We have been discussing that for more than three years so it is impossible that Yahoo! didn't know," he said. "I heard a lot of words like I am stealing something from investors into my pocket," he continued. "How could I do that?" Without the license for Alipay "everything else is just a zero," Ma said of the imperative he felt to make a command decision that some saw as a message he was intent on parting ways with Yahoo! and Softbank. "Interest (in the company) to me is not that important," Ma said. "We are setting examples for Chinese companies that doing business in China or anywhere in the world we have to be 100 percent legal, 100 percent transparent and make sure the company can grow," he said. Yahoo! chief executive Carol Bartz said last week that progress is being made in resolving the dispute over Alipay and Alibaba, the Chinese e-commerce giant. Yahoo! owns a 43 percent stake in Alibaba and an estimated 40 percent share of Alipay. Ma described himself as the single largest shareholder in Alibaba. He sidestepped answering how much foreign ownership he thought best for Alibaba, saying that he wanted stock holdings to be more diversified. Ma said his impression at his first meeting with Bartz was that she was unhappy about Yahoo! not having much success in China and that she wasn't necessarily fond of him. "I don't want to be liked," Ma said. "I want to be respected." "She's not happy Yahoo! was not that successful in China," Ma said of Bartz. "It I was the CEO I would not be happy; but I would be happy if Yahoo! America came back." Interviewer Kara Swisher likened his comment to the US phrase of "minding one's own knitting," drawing a smile from Ma. Ma said he envisioned Alibaba becoming the main platform for online commerce in China. "E-commerce in the United States is dessert because everything else is so good," Ma said. "I think e-commerce in China will be the main course." He responded to questions about Internet censorship in China by noting that the nation's economy is booming and saying that he preferred to look at matters through the optimistic eyes of an entrepreneur. Working with governments anywhere in the world is essentially the same, Ma contended. "Love them, respect them, just don't do business together," he said. When asked, Ma quipped that he would love to buy Yahoo! if someone would lend him the money but noted that "making something happen is more fun." "I think it is not easy to turn a company around," Ma said. "I have a great deal of respect for the people still fighting for Yahoo!." High among the hot Internet trends in China now are commerce, search, games, and social networking, according to Ma. He suggested that Yahoo! be more "open minded" when it comes to new ideas and suggested making the company smaller if it is difficult to run. "What I believe is not important," Ma concluded. "What Carol believes is very important."