Bao Fan, a star dealmaker and the founder of the boutique investment bank China Renaissance Holdings, has been released more than two years after being detained by Chinese authorities, according to a person with knowledge of the matter.
China Renaissance sent shock waves through the country’s financial sector in 2023 when it announced it was unable to contact Bao, who founded the bank in 2005 with two others and still owns nearly 49% of its issued shares. The company’s share price tanked as a result of his detention.
He was one of several high-profile executives in China – mostly from the finance industry – who have gone missing in recent years with little explanation amid a sweeping anti-corruption campaign spearheaded by the president, Xi Jinping.
Bao’s disappearance rattled professionals in the Chinese banking industry as Beijing pressed its campaign to rein in lavish lifestyles among the financial elite.
His release comes as China seeks to drive up business confidence, particularly for the country’s tech entrepreneurs, whose businesses have struggled under a years-long crackdown.
The private sector has been reeling from weak domestic consumption and a prolonged debt crisis in the property industry, against a broader backdrop of heightened trade tensions with the US.
Christopher Beddor, a deputy China research director at Gavekal Dragonomics, said: “This is certainly a positive signal, as Bao was the most high-profile financier detained in recent years.
“Still, it won’t change the fact that the anti-corruption campaign continues to churn through the financial sector, and the common prosperity campaign has led to sweeping pay caps and even clawbacks. China’s financial sector remains a long way from its heyday only a few years ago.”
Bao, widely regarded as one of China’s best-connected bankers, was released from detention earlier this week, the source said on Friday, declining to be identified because the information was not public.
Bao had been involved in high-profile deals including the mergers of the ride-hailing companies Didi and Kuaidi, the food delivery giants Meituan and Dianping, and the travel platforms Ctrip and Qunar.
China Renaissance Bao had yet to respond to Reuters’ requests for comment. Chinese media outlets Caixin first reported Bao’s release, citing unidentified sources.
China Renaissance’s shares jumped 17% on Friday to close at HK$6.87 ($0.8752) before the news of his release became public.
Bao, who previously worked at Credit Suisse and Morgan Stanley, went missing in February 2023. Trade in China Renaissance shares was suspended in April 2023 after the bank delayed publication of its audited annual results as a result of mainland Chinese authorities detaining its chief executive.
A Chinese financial publication reported in May 2023 he was detained by disciplinary and supervision officials. Authorities have not yet provided an explanation. China Renaissance resumed trading of its shares in September last year. They plunged 72% on their opening day.
Sources have previously told Reuters he was taken away to assist in an investigation into a former colleague.
Xie Yi Jing, who co-founded China Renaissance, replaced Bao as chair in February last year. Subsequently, Bao’s wife, Hui Yin Ching, was appointed as chair to lead the boutique investment bank in October, with changes in other senior management ranks as well.