The well-known deal-maker’s\u00a0disappearance is the latest in a series of cases of high-profile Chinese executives going missing with little explanation.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
His disappearance rattled professionals in the financial industry as Beijing pressed its campaign to rein in the “lavish lifestyle” of the “financial elite”.<\/p>\n
In February 2024, Mr Bao’s investment bank, China Renaissance, said he had stepped down as head.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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Bao Fan founded boutique bank China Renaissance in 2005. (AP: Mark Schiefelbein)<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
“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.<\/p>\n
“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.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“China’s financial sector remains a long way from its heyday only a few years ago.”Scope of investigation still unclear<\/p>\n
Mr Bao’s disappearance \u2014 and China Renaissance’s subsequent announcement that he was “cooperating in an investigation being carried out by certain authorities” \u2014 sent shock waves throughout the financial services industry.<\/p>\n
Military official latest to be purged under Xi Jinping<\/a><\/p>\n General He Weidong, China’s second-ranking military official and a co-vice-chairman of the powerful Central Military Commission, has not been seen in public since March.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Sources have previously told Reuters that he was taken away to assist in an investigation into a former colleague.<\/p>\n Chinese authorities never formally announced the scope of the investigation.<\/p>\n Mr Bao is one of many influential figures in business, entertainment, and sporting sectors who have disappeared with minimal explanation.<\/p>\n In 2020, Alibaba’s founder Jack Ma disappeared for three months<\/a> after giving a controversial speech before reappearing at a charity event, and his company was fined $US2.8 billion<\/p>\n