Billionaire chief executive of China Renaissance Holdings Bao Fan has disappeared, according to a Thursday report from the firm cited by the BBC.
Bao is known as a prominent deal broker in China, with many top tech clients, including Didi and Meituan, according to the BBC. Members of his investment firm reportedly told shareholders they had “been unable to contact Mr Bao Fan,” causing shares to sink Friday.
The board said none of them were aware of “any information that indicated that Mr Bao’s unavailability is or might be related to the business and/or operations of the group,” the BBC reported. No details were provided on precisely when Bao disappeared, but multiple close sources told Chinese news outlet Caixin he hasn’t been reachable for at least two days.
Chinese Billionaire Jack Ma Suspected Missing, Hasn’t Been Seen In Two Months https://t.co/85KwTfGl6c
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) January 4, 2021
Bao has not shown up at his firm’s offices or appeared in public for several days, Caixin reported. The announcement has apparently renewed concerns over the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) crackdown on notable leaders in the finance and tech sectors, according to the BBC. (RELATED: It’s Never Been More Unsafe To Be A Russian Oligarch)
Authorities took the firm’s president, Cong Lin, in September 2022 over work he reportedly conducted at China-owned bank, ICBC, the outlet continued. China Renaissance Holdings has allegedly not commented on Cong, and the company no longer lists him on its website.
Bao is the latest in a string of Chinese billionaires who have mysteriously disappeared. A Forbes report from early 2021 outlined how a slew of notable figures have seemingly fallen off the face of the Earth, concluding that in China, no one is above the CCP.