Missing Chinese banker resigns after investigation
After disappearing nearly a year ago as part of an investigation by Chinese authorities, prominent investment banker Bao Fan has resigned as chairman and CEO of China Renaissance Holdings, the company said Friday.
Mr Bao, a banker who brokered deals for Chinese internet giants Alibaba and Tencent, went missing last February. China Renaissance initially said it had previously lost contact with Mr Bao explain that he cooperated with an investigation conducted by authorities in China.
Mr Bao's disappearance marked an escalation in Beijing's crackdown on its business elite as part of an anti-corruption campaign. It fueled concerns about the lengths to which Chinese authorities would go to control power players in the domestic economy, while at the same time expanding control over the financial regulatory system.
In a submit On the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, China Renaissance said Mr. Bao was resigning for “health reasons and to devote more time to his family affairs.” The company did not explain the nature of the study in which Mr. Bao participated.
In addition to giving up his position as CEO, the company said Mr Bao had also resigned from the company's board of directors.
“Mr. Bao has confirmed that he has no disagreement with the board and that no other matter regarding his resignation should be brought to the attention of the company's shareholders,” China Renaissance said.
Mr. Bao was a well-connected banker at Morgan Stanley and Credit Suisse before founding China Renaissance in 2004, which invested in many of the country's most successful technology companies and helped them go public in Hong Kong and New York.
Xie Yijing, who served as interim director in Mr. Bao's absence, was appointed chairman and designated as the permanent head of China Renaissance, according to the filing.
Before Mr Bao's disappearance, Cong Lin, another director at China Renaissance, was detained by authorities in 2022 as part of an investigation into his actions before joining the company.
China has targeted financial firms as part of its efforts to rein in companies and executives in the name of strengthening national security. Over the past year, Chinese authorities have attacked and raided several consulting firms with foreign ties. In November, the Chinese Ministry of State Security said said it was a 'faithful guardian of financial security'.
On Tuesday, inside an article on the ministry's WeChat page titled “Ten Cups of Tea” – a nod to coming in “for tea” as a euphemism for being interrogated – the agency listed ten actions that would arouse suspicion under China's counterintelligence law. A revision of the law last year broadened the definition of what constitutes espionage, fueling concerns that employees at foreign companies could be swept up for participating in normal business activities such as gathering information about industries and competitors.