China's top billionaire investment banker Bao Fan goes missing after Jack Ma: Report

Bao Fan, one the most high-profile billionaire bankers in China, has gone missing.

Bao Fan is the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of China Renaissance Holdings, one of China's top investment banks and private equity firms based in Beijing. Some of his clients included top tech companies like Didi and Meituan.

The news about his disappearance was confirmed by his company in a market update on Thursday. They stated that they had not been able to reach Bao Fan, "the controlling shareholder of the company" in recent days.

"The Board is not aware of any information that indicates that Mr. Bao's unavailability is or might be related to the business and/or operations of the Group which is continuing normally," the company stated.

The company did not specify how long Bao had been missing for and is yet to make any further comments.

According to Bloomberg, following the news of his disappearance, the shares of China Renaissance plunged as much as 50 percent in Hong Kong on Friday and closed down at 28 percent.

Bloomberg quoting sources said that Bao was assisting authorities in an investigation that involved Cong Lin, the former president of China Renaissance Holdings.

Bao started his career in investment banking in the late 1990's at Morgan Stanley and Credit Suisse. He then went on to serve as an adviser to the stock exchanges in Shanghai and Shenzhen.

Bao's team has also invested in companies Nio (NIO) and Li Auto, US-listed Chinese electric vehicle makers. He also played a big role in helping Chinese internet giants Baidu (BIDU) and JD.com (JD) in completing their secondary listings in Hong Kong.

He was instrumental in bringing together and merging two of China's leading food delivery services, Meituan and Dianping, in 2015. The combined company's platform is now widely used in the entire country.

Bao's sudden disappearance has caused panic in the country's fintech industry. His disappearance comes amid China's anti-corruption probe launched by President Xi Jinping. The probe is targeted towards the country's $60 trillion financial sector (nearly £60,000 billion).

According to CNN, it is not uncommon for high-profile business leaders and executives to suddenly drop off the radar with little explanation in China.

The absence of Jack Ma, the founder of Alibaba from public view triggered speculations about his whereabouts. Ma has largely disappeared from the public eye and has been keeping a low profile since 2020. He was last seen in Japan in Nov. 2022.

In 2020, Ren Zhiqiang, real estate tycoon also disappeared for several months amid criticism after he allegedly spoke out against Xi's handling of the coronavirus pandemic. Ren was later jailed for 18 years on corruption charges.

In a prominent case that took place in 2017, Anbang Insurance warned shareholders that its chairman, Wu Xiaohui, would be unable to carry out his duties after being detained by authorities as part of a government investigation. Anbang cited "personal reasons" for his absence at the time. Wu was eventually sentenced to 18 years in prison.

In another instance in 2017, Xiao Jianhua, the tycoon who controlled Tomorrow Holdings, was apprehended by Chinese security agents in his room at the Four Seasons hotel in Hong Kong and deported to mainland China. He was sentenced to 13 years in prison in August 2022.