China's top dealmaker, Bao Fan, 52, has vanished without a trace, leaving his company, China Renaissance, in chaos. The boutique investment bank, which is known for its close ties to top technology companies in China, suspended trading of its shares and delayed the release of its annual results due to Bao's absence.
Bao, a veteran dealmaker who has worked closely with tech giants such as Meituan, Dianping, Nio, Li Auto, Baidu, and JD.com, has been unreachable since mid-February. His team has invested in several high-profile deals, including the merger between Meituan and Dianping, which created a "super app" platform ubiquitous in China.
The company's shares have plummeted since Bao went missing, dropping as much as 50%. In late February, China Renaissance stated that Bao was cooperating with an investigation by certain authorities in the country, but no further details were provided.
Chinese media has speculated that Bao may be assisting in an investigation related to a former executive at China Renaissance. The company's board of directors is unable to give an estimate about when it will be able to approve its audited results for 2022 or dispatch its annual report by the required deadline of April 30, as a result.
Bao's disappearance has raised questions about his involvement in a broader financial crackdown by President Xi Jinping. Several high-ranking officials have been charged with taking bribes and hiding overseas savings in recent months, including Wang Bin, former party chief and chairman of China Life Insurance, who was charged in January.
The investigation into Liu Liange, the former party secretary and chairman of Bank of China, was launched over the weekend by China's top anti-graft watchdog. The bank is state-owned and one of the country's four biggest lenders, and Liu is suspected of "serious violations of discipline and law."
Bao, a veteran dealmaker who has worked closely with tech giants such as Meituan, Dianping, Nio, Li Auto, Baidu, and JD.com, has been unreachable since mid-February. His team has invested in several high-profile deals, including the merger between Meituan and Dianping, which created a "super app" platform ubiquitous in China.
The company's shares have plummeted since Bao went missing, dropping as much as 50%. In late February, China Renaissance stated that Bao was cooperating with an investigation by certain authorities in the country, but no further details were provided.
Chinese media has speculated that Bao may be assisting in an investigation related to a former executive at China Renaissance. The company's board of directors is unable to give an estimate about when it will be able to approve its audited results for 2022 or dispatch its annual report by the required deadline of April 30, as a result.
Bao's disappearance has raised questions about his involvement in a broader financial crackdown by President Xi Jinping. Several high-ranking officials have been charged with taking bribes and hiding overseas savings in recent months, including Wang Bin, former party chief and chairman of China Life Insurance, who was charged in January.
The investigation into Liu Liange, the former party secretary and chairman of Bank of China, was launched over the weekend by China's top anti-graft watchdog. The bank is state-owned and one of the country's four biggest lenders, and Liu is suspected of "serious violations of discipline and law."
. I mean, this Bao Fan guy seems like he's caught up in something big, and I'm not surprised his company is tanking. The whole situation feels super suspicious, but I don't want to jump to conclusions or anything 
. It's just weird that no one knows what's going on with him. Did you know that the Enron scandal was like, a huge deal back in the day? 
And now we're dealing with this Chinese finance stuff... it's all so confusing! Anyway, I'm sure everything will get sorted out eventually 
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what's going on in china? first bao fan vanishes and now his shares are tanking... like, how does this keep happening? 
is there a bigger picture here that we're not seeing? 
my money's on china facing economic instability and it's gonna be interesting to see how the government handles it... 
what if he got in too deep? Like, maybe he was involved in somethin that went bad? The financial crackdown under Xi Jinping is gettin intense 
it's like, all mysterious & stuff. What if Bao just wanted to take a break from the whole thing & now he's stuck in witness protection or somethin? 
the more I read about this, the more I wanna no what happened to him 
. The whole thing just feels so... suspicious 
. Anyways, I need to fact-check more on this to get a better idea 
.
shares plummeting 50% 
chinese media is speculating about some investigation 
but the truth is still a mystery 
and people are getting charged with bribes and hiding overseas savings 
but now he's gone and nobody knows what happened to him 
. Let's not jump to conclusions just yet; maybe Bao is working on something new behind the scenes 
. whoever did this gotta answer 4 their actions lol. dont get me started on xi jinpins financial crackdown 
. hope bao fans family gets some answers tho 
And now it's all falling apart because Bao is missing. It's like the whole thing is connected to this financial crackdown under President Xi Jinping. But what does it even have to do with Bao Fan's disappearance?!
. Can someone please just give us some answers already?!
.
. Can't say I'm surprised though... this is China we're talking about 
. Politics and power struggles always seem to find a way in 
. chinese politics are like one big soap opera 
. but seriously tho, what's going on with these high-ranking officials and their 'bribes' stuff? how many times can we keep hearing about this before somethin' changes? 
. But for now, let's just say that Bao Fan's disappearance is giving a lot of people some serious anxiety 
I mean, think about it, all these high-profile deals he worked on, creating that "super app" platform... could be more than just coincidence. What's really going down behind those closed doors of China Renaissance and the higher-ups? 