Status: 02/17/2023 10:44 a.m
High-ranking Chinese executives have suddenly disappeared several times. The most recent case: investment bank boss Bao Fan, one of China’s most influential financial managers. Now he is missing.
Chinese billionaire and head of investment bank China Renaissance, Bao Fan, is missing. “The company was unable to contact Mr. Bao,” the company said in a statement to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange today. The bank did not provide any further information on the alleged whereabouts of the influential businessman.
Shares in China Renaissance Holdings plunged as much as 50 percent after the boutique investment bank’s announcement. The business news website “Caixin” previously reported that Bao had not been available for two days. China Renaissance initially did not respond to inquiries about the whereabouts of the 52-year-old. According to “Caixin”, China Renaissance President Cong Lin was taken into custody last September.
Important role in large mergers
Bao is the main shareholder of China Renaissance. He founded the investment bank in 2005 and finally took it public in Hong Kong in 2018. He is described as one of China’s best-connected bankers. He has been involved in major technology mergers – including the merger of the Chinese transport service providers Didi and Kuaidi or the food suppliers Meituan and Dianping. Bao has also helped launch a number of internet startups in China with his bank, including leading online trading platform JD.com.
In the past, high-ranking Chinese executives have suddenly disappeared several times. Just a few days ago, the real estate developer Seazen Group announced that the company could not reach its vice chairman. A few years ago, the case of billionaire Guo Guangchang, who disappeared for a few days at the end of 2015, attracted a lot of attention.
Jack Ma disappeared for months
In 2017, Chinese-Canadian businessman Xiao Jianhua was arrested. He was sentenced to 13 years in prison in August 2022 for corruption. Xiao was reportedly arrested in Hong Kong by plainclothes Beijing police officers. With an estimated fortune of around six billion dollars, he was one of the richest people in China at the time.
When Alibaba founder Jack Ma stopped appearing in public for months from autumn 2020, this also led to numerous speculations. At the time, it was suspected that there was a connection with the entrepreneur’s critical statements about the Chinese authorities.