Chinese investment banker Bao Fan is missing, his company China Renaissance said late Thursday.
International
oi-Madhuri Adnal
Bao
Fan,
one
of
China’s
most
high-profile
investment
bankers
known
for
overseeing
mergers
involving
tech
giants
Didi
and
Meituan,
and
the
CEO
of
China
Renaissance
investment
bank,
has
gone
missing,
the
firm
informed
on
Friday.
“The
company
has
been
unable
to
contact
Mr.
Bao,”
China
Renaissance
said
in
an
announcement
to
the
Hong
Kong
Stock
Exchange,
without
offering
further
details.
Who
is
Bao
Fan?
Bao
Fan
is
a
Chinese
tech
billionaire
and
the
founder
of
China
Renaissance,
a
Beijing-based
investment
bank
that
specializes
in
mergers
and
acquisitions,
financing,
and
private
fund
management.
Prior
to
founding
China
Renaissance
in
2005,
Bao
Fan
worked
as
a
managing
director
at
Deutsche
Bank
and
as
a
partner
at
New
Enterprise
Associates,
a
venture
capital
firm.
He
has
also
served
as
an
independent
director
on
the
board
of
several
major
Chinese
companies,
including
JD.com
and
BitAuto.
Bao
also
worked
for
Morgan
Stanley
and
Credit
Suisse
before
setting
up
China
Renaissance
and
lsting
it
in
Hong
Kong
in
2018.
He
is
also
known
for
his
contributions
to
the
development
of
China’s
technology
and
internet
industries,
having
played
a
key
role
in
the
initial
public
offerings
(IPOs)
of
several
major
Chinese
tech
companies,
including
Xiaomi,
JD.com,
and
Ctrip.
As
for
his
assets,
according
to
Forbes’ Real-Time
Billionaires
List,
Bao
Fan’s
net
worth
is
estimated
at
$1.7
billion
USD
as
of
September
2021.
However,
it’s
important
to
note
that
these
estimates
are
subject
to
change
and
may
not
be
entirely
accurate.
Bao’s
disappearance
has
brought
back
memories
of
an
earlier
crackdown
on
senior
executives
of
Chinese
private
firms,
including
Jack
Ma,
the
founder
of
online
retailer
Alibaba.
Ma
went
missing
in
November
2020
and
remained
absent
from
public
view
for
several
months
after
authorities
called
off
the
IPO
of
his
Ant
Group
parent
company.
Alibaba
has
never
reported
Ma
unreachable,
and
media
outlets
have
reported
him
traveling
in
Europe,
Japan
and
Hong
Kong.
