The appearance, in a video reported to have been published by Tianmu News, immediately soothed concerns over an apparent run-in between Ma and Chinese Government authorities.

The performance of the e-commerce giant’s shares on the Hong Kong stock market today, as word of the video spread, reflected this sense of relief among investors, as they climbed more than eight per cent.

The confrontation led to the suspension late last year of an initial public offering (IPO) of shares in Ant, a financial technology company also founded by Ma.

At around $37 billion (£27 billion/€31 billion), this was to have been the biggest IPO in capital markets history.

Tensions between Ma/Alibaba and the Chinese Government are a potential problem for the IOC as it counts down to the next Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games in the Chinese capital Beijing in just over a year’s time.

Alibaba is at present arguably the most important of all IOC sponsors.

With its digital expertise and Cloud technology, the Hangzhou-based company is becoming involved not just in Olympic merchandising but also other key processes such as ticketing and the supply of Olympic content to media companies and ultimately fans watching on screens around the world.

Reports said the new video had included a segment showing Ma visiting a school near Hangzhou.

A spokesperson for the Jack Ma Foundation was said to have explained that the 56-year-old tech entrepreneur had "participated in the online ceremony of the annual rural teacher initiative event on January 20."

Ma’s disappearance from public view had triggered growing speculation while seemingly contributing to Alibaba’s sagging share price.

Many had always suggested, however, that the charismatic businessman was simply keeping a low profile while negotiations between Alibaba, Ant and Chinese regulators were ongoing.