Chinese tech billionaire Bao Fan goes missing

Chinese investment banker Bao Fan is missing, his company China Renaissance said late Thursday.

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.