Alibaba chief apologizes for JD tirade

Billionaire Jack Ma apologized for calling Chinese e-commerce rival JD.com Inc a "tragedy", saying he was sorry for causing the company trouble by "putting it all out there".

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd founder and chairman said on his personal Weibo account that JD had his blessings after criticisms of its business model were published last month in a Chinese-language book. Ma said he had a habit of making "crazy" and "stupid" boasts and did not expect that such private comments among friends would be made public. He made no mention of another passage in the book quoting Ma as faulting strategic moves by Tencent Holdings Ltd.

The apology shows the increased scrutiny Ma is under since Alibaba's record-breaking $25 billion initial public offering in September, which helped make him Asia's richest man.