Top Chinese Investment Banker Missing

A top Chinese investment banker has gone missing, his company has said. China Renaissance Holdings told the Hong Kong Stock Exchange earlier this week it had not been able to reach its chief executive Bao Fan. The company didn’t give further details but the announcement led the firm’s stock to tumble about 30 per cent. The 52-year-old’s disappearance has renewed concerns about a renewed crackdown on top industrialists as part of President Xi Jinping’s so-called drives against corruption and ‘common prosperity’. Bao Fan has been instrumental in setting up some large internet start-ups in China. At least six billionaires have been targeted in the recent past, including Jack Ma, the founder of e-commerce giant Alibaba, who disappeared for three months in 2020 after speaking against market regulators. China Renaissance Holdings, founded by Bao in 2005, now has offices in Hong Kong, Beijing, Shanghai, Singapore and New York.