Chinese tech financier and banker Bao Fan has been released by Chinese authorities after vanishing from public view more than two years ago while “cooperating” with an investigation, a former colleague told AFP.
Mr Bao was a key player in the emergence of some of China’s biggest tech giants and was involved in high-profile deals, including the mergers of ride-hailing firms Didi and its top rival Kuaidi Dache, food delivery giants Meituan and Dianping, and travel platforms Ctrip and Qunar.
He went missing in February 2023 with little explanation and was one of several high-profile disappearances in China amid a sweeping anti-corruption campaign spearheaded by President Xi Jinping.
His disappearance rattled professionals in the financial industry as Beijing pressed its campaign to rein in the “lavish lifestyle” of the “financial elite”.
In February 2024, Mr Bao’s investment bank, China Renaissance, said he had stepped down as head.
His former colleague, speaking to AFP on condition of anonymity, said he remained in contact with the boutique bank and could confirm Mr Bao had been released, as first reported by financial media outlet Caixin.
Mr Bao, who previously worked at Credit Suisse and Morgan Stanley, was known for his close ties with the country’s top tech bosses and was seen as a celebrity in venture capital circles.
Bao Fan founded boutique bank China Renaissance in 2005. (AP: Mark Schiefelbein)
His release comes as China seeks to boost confidence in the private sector, which has been reeling from weak domestic consumption and a prolonged debt crisis in the property sector, against a broader backdrop of heightened trade tensions with the United States.
“This is certainly a positive signal, as Bao was the most high-profile financier detained in recent years,” said Christopher Beddor, deputy China research director of Gavekal Dragonomics.
“Still, it won’t change the fact that the anti-corruption campaign continues to churn through the financial sector, and the common prosperity campaign has led to sweeping pay caps and even clawbacks,” said Mr Beddor.Â
“China’s financial sector remains a long way from its heyday only a few years ago.”Scope of investigation still unclear
Mr Bao’s disappearance — and China Renaissance’s subsequent announcement that he was “cooperating in an investigation being carried out by certain authorities” — sent shock waves throughout the financial services industry.
Military official latest to be purged under Xi Jinping
Trade in China Renaissance shares was suspended in April 2023 after the bank delayed publication of its audited annual results, after Mr Bao was detained.
Sources have previously told Reuters that he was taken away to assist in an investigation into a former colleague.
Chinese authorities never formally announced the scope of the investigation.
Mr Bao is one of many influential figures in business, entertainment, and sporting sectors who have disappeared with minimal explanation.
In 2020, Alibaba’s founder Jack Ma disappeared for three months after giving a controversial speech before reappearing at a charity event, and his company was fined $US2.8 billion
Business tycoon Ren Zhiqiang, who criticised Chinese President Xi Jinping’s response to COVID-19, was also jailed for 18 years.
In recent months, top military officials and high-ranking ministers have also been purged from President Xi’s cabinet, amid factional politics.
ABC/AFP/Reuters