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    China Renaissance Founder Bao Fan Missing; What Does it Mean For the Future of Chinese Finance?

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    China's business world was shaken on Thursday when investment bank China Renaissance Holdings announced that it had lost touch with its founder and chairman, Bao Fan.[0] The announcement sent China Renaissance's share price plunging by as much as 50% in early trade on Friday.[1]

    Bao Fan is a leading dealbroker in China whose clients include top tech companies such as Didi and Meituan.[2] He founded China Renaissance in 2005 as a boutique advisory investment firm and it has since grown into one of the country’s top financial institutions, executing deals and mergers between several of China's tech companies.[3]

    It was not stated by the company how long Bao had been absent.[2] According to sources cited by Chinese business newswire Caixin, two days had passed without any contact with the staff being made.[2]

    The disappearance of Mr Bao – one of China's leading tech investors – has again evoked a history of Chinese executives suddenly vanishing for periods of time with little explanation.[4]

    Guo Guangchang, the founder of Fosun group, who is often referred to as the Warren Buffet of China, was a notable absentee at the event, having disappeared for a few days in 2015.[4] Chinese-Canadian billionaire Xiao Jianhua was taken in 2017 and last year was jailed for corruption.[5]

    The announcement from his company has led to worries that Beijing may be planning to crackdown on business and tech executives.[2] The Chinese government is poised to name regulatory veterans known for their strict campaigns against financial wrongdoing as new chiefs of the country’s banking and securities watchdogs.[0]

    The news sent shockwaves through the investment community, with many fearing a renewed clampdown on China’s finance industry. A chill is running through the finance industry due to Bao's disappearance, which is not an uncommon occurrence when executives in China are being investigated by the government.[6]

    Bao Fan is a prominent financier and has been the go-to banker for some of China's biggest companies.[6] At the close of June 2022, China Renaissance had a total of 48.6 billion yuan (roughly $7.1 billion) under its management, as stated in its most recent interim report.[7]

    Willer Chen, a senior analyst at Forsyth Barr Asia, stated that the stock could be heavily impacted in the long-term due to Bao being the key man for the firm.[7] A China Renaissance spokesperson in New York declined to comment when reached by phone on Thursday.[7]

    0. “Analysis | China's Top Tech Banker Is Missing? Here's What That Means” The Washington Post, 17 Feb. 2023, https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/chinas-top-tech-banker-is-missing-heres-what-that-means/2023/02/17/73241a9a-ae98-11ed-b0ba-9f4244c6e5da_story.html

    1. “China Renaissance unable to contact CEO Bao Fan, shares plunge by 50% in early trade | Mint” Mint, 17 Feb. 2023, https://www.livemint.com/news/world/china-renaissance-unable-to-contact-ceo-bao-fan-shares-plunged-by-50-in-early-trade-11676606537628.html

    2. “China's high-profile investment banker goes missing” Kalinga TV, 17 Feb. 2023, https://kalingatv.com/world/chinas-high-profile-investment-banker-goes-missing

    3. “China Renaissance Shares Fall After Chairman Bao Fan Went Missing” MarketWatch, 17 Feb. 2023, https://www.marketwatch.com/story/china-renaissance-shares-fall-after-chairman-bao-fan-went-missing-26daeec1

    4. “Top Chinese investment banker Bao Fan is latest CEO to go missing” CNN, 17 Feb. 2023, https://www.cnn.com/2023/02/17/investing/china-renaissance-ceo-bao-fan-missing-intl-hnk/index.html

    5. “Bao Fan: Billionaire tech banker in China reported missing” BBC, 17 Feb. 2023, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-64672095

    6. “China’s Top Tech Banker Goes Missing” Baaghi TV, 17 Feb. 2023, https://en.baaghitv.com/chinas-top-tech-banker-goes-missing/

    7. “China's top tech deal maker ‘goes missing', rattling industry” The Australian Financial Review, 17 Feb. 2023, https://www.afr.com/world/asia/china-s-top-tech-deal-maker-goes-missing-rattling-industry-20230217-p5clfk

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