Bao Fan, one of China’s most notable billionaires, is missing, his company says, renewing fears over possible crackdowns from the Chinese Communist Party on finance and tech figures.
Bao is the CEO of China Renaissance Holdings and is known as one of China’s biggest deal makers. But his company said in a market update Thursday that it has not been able to reach him in recent days. The announcement sent shares of the financial institution plummeting by more than 20%, per CNBC.
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China Renaissance Holding’s board added it was 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,” BBC reported. The company did not say exactly how long Bao has been missing.
After Bao disappeared, a senior executive at China Renaissance Holdings told staff “not to spread or believe rumors,” according to the Financial Times. The paper added that people close to the CEO believe his disappearance could be connected to his once-lieutenant Cong Lin, who was detained by Chinese authorities in September, sending the company into disorder.
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Bao is also China Renaissance’s controlling shareholder, chairman, and executive director, per CNBC. He founded China Renaissance in 2005 after a banking career at Morgan Stanley and Credit Suisse, according to BBC.
