The abduction of well-known Chinese dealmaker Bao Fan, founder of investment bank China Renaissance Holdings, in the latest disappearance of a senior business executive in the country has alarmed investors.
The missing dealmaker is the latest in a string of high-profile Chinese businesspeople who have gone missing with no explanation during President Xi Jinping’s anti-corruption crusade.
The reasons for Bao’s disappearance are unclear.
Here are five facts about Bao and his firm:
Bao entered China’s prestigious Fudan University in 1989, and later received his master’s degree from the BI Norwegian School of Management. He later worked at Credit Suisse and Morgan Stanley.
Humble beginnings:
Bao started China Renaissance in 2005 as a two-person team. The firm started its operations with financial advisory and quickly expanded into services including underwriting, sales and trading, as well as asset management. In recent years, Bao has been playing an increasingly active role in the group’s private equity business.
Tech mergers:
One of China’s best-connected bankers, Bao was involved with major technology mergers including the tie-up of ride-hailing firms Didi and Kuaidi, food delivery giants Meituan and Dianping, and travel devices platforms Ctrip and Qunar.
China Renaissance as adviser:
China Renaissance went public in Hong Kong in 2018 after raising $346 million. In recent years it has acted as an adviser for some of China’s biggest tech IPOs, including those of JD.Com Inc and Kuaishou Technology as well as Didi’s New York listing in 2021.
Active investor:
The company is also an active investor in the technology sector. It raised around 6.5 billion yuan ($945 million) in a yuan-denominated fund in 2019. By the end of last June, its investment management company had assets worth around 48.6 billion yuan.
Ranking on equity capital markets:
According to Refinitiv, the company is now rated ninth in China’s equity capital markets league table for 2023. In 2022, it earned $20.6 million in Chinese-related investment banking fees, down from $43.13 million the previous year.
