Who is Bao Fan? China's top investment banker goes missing after Jack Ma

Bao Fan's disappearance comes amid China's anti-corruption probe that started in late 2021 targeting the nation’s $60 trillion financial sector.

Bao-Fan Bao-Fan-Missing Who-is-Bao-Fan

Seems like the Chinese government is firm to use its power to crush any kind of dissent at any cost. After billionaire Jack Man went missing and the Chinese government was accused of shutting down the Alibaba founder, it is now time for China's top investment banker Bao Fan. As per reports, Bao Fan, the chairman and CEO of investment bank China Renaissance, has become unreachable or simply has gone missing. The investment bank and private equity firm based in Beijing said in a statement that it was unable to contact Bao Fan. China Renaissance in its official statement stated that it does not have any information that indicates Bao’s unavailability is or might be related to the business or operations of the group. After Bao Fan's disappearance, shares of the company fell by 50 percent yesterday. Now, the question arises who is Bao Fan and why his disappearance show an ugly reality of the Chinese government?

Who is Bao Fan?

As mentioned above, Bao Fan is the chairman and CEO of investment bank China Renaissance. For the unversed, Bao Fan is one of the most high-profile financiers in China. He started his career as an M&A banker with Morgan Stanley in the late 1990s and has also worked for Credit Suisse. Bao later served as an adviser to the stock exchanges in Shanghai and Shenzhen. He told Financial Times in 2018 that during his stint as an M&A banker in Hong Kong in the late 1990s, he initially dealt with state-owned enterprises. However, Bao said he was attracted to what called were “first-generation tech entrepreneurs”. “I thought, these guys could be the future of China.” Back in 2005, Bao founded China Renaissance Holdings, which became listed on the Hong Kong stock exchange in 2018. Bloomberg suggests that the 52-year-old is known for brokering difficult mergers and acquisition cases, including that of advert sites 58.com and Ganji, and of ride-hailing firm Didi and its then-main rival Kuaidi Dache. Notably, Bao also helped broker the merger between two of China’s leading food delivery services, Meituan and Dianping, in 2015. His company has advised the initial public offerings (IPO) of e-commerce firms JD.com and Kuashou, as well as helped Didi with its listing on the New York Stock Exchange and Chinese internet giant Baidu (BIDU) with its secondary listings in Hong Kong, as per reports.

Bao Fan vs Chinese Government

It is pertinent to mention here that Bao Fan has been under the scanner of the Chinese Communist Government for past several months. As per reports, China Renaissance’s president Cong Lin has been investigated by authorities for months. The executive committee of China Renaissance told its employees in a message on Friday morning: “[We] believe that everyone has had a restless night. At this time, [we] hope that you do not believe in or spread rumours,”, reported The Wall Street Journal. Furthermore, reports suggest that Bao’s family has been informed that he was “assisting with an investigation”.

It is pertinent to mention here that similar kind of treatment took place with Jack Ma after he slammed XI Jinping over his policies. Bao's disappearance comes amid China's anti-corruption probe that started in late 2021 targeting the nation’s $60 trillion financial sector. In the same year, Alibaba founder Jack Ma’s absence from public view triggered speculation about his whereabouts. He has been keeping a low profile since delivering a speech in October in Shanghai criticising China's financial regulators. Last month, it was decided that Jack Ma would no longer control the Chinese fintech giant after the firm's shareholders agreed to implement a series of adjustments that will see him give up most of his voting rights.

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