Alibaba's Jack Ma makes first public appearance in three months

FILE PHOTO: Alibaba Group co-founder and executive chairman Jack Ma attends the World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC) in Shanghai, China, September 17, 2018. Picture taken September 17, 2018. REUTERS/Aly Song

SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Alibaba Group founder Jack Ma made his first public appearance since October on Wednesday when he spoke to a group of teachers by video, easing concern about his unusual absence from the limelight and sending shares in the e-commerce giant surging.

Speculation over Ma's whereabouts has swirled in the wake of news this month that he was replaced in the final episode of a reality TV show he had been a judge on, and amid a regulatory clampdown by Beijing on his sprawling business empire.