Bao Fan Net Worth: How Rich Is The Missing China Renaissance Founder?

Chinese investment banker Bao Fan, who went missing around 10 days ago, is cooperating with a government probe, China Renaissance said in a filing Sunday.

The shares of China Renaissance, one of the largest investment banks in China, plunged 28% after it announced it could not reach its founder on Feb.16. Although the stock recovered slightly after that, it is still down 11% this year.

"The board has become aware that Mr. Bao is currently cooperating in an investigation being carried out by certain authorities in the People's Republic of China," the company said in a filing with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on Sunday, reported Bloomberg. "The board would like to reiterate that the business and operations of [China Renaissance] are continuing normally."

The company also assured it would "cooperate and assist with any lawful request" from the officials concerned, reported South China Morning Post.

Fan, a Shanghai-born business executive, received his degree from Shanghai's Fudan University and the Norwegian School of Management. He began his career with companies like Morgan Stanley and Credit Suisse Group.

Fan founded China Renaissance in 2005 as an establishment to connect startups with venture capitalists and private equity investors. Started as a firm with just two people, it has now more than 400 employees working across Shanghai, Hong Kong and New York. The company went public in Hong Kong in 2018. It helped broker several technology firm mergers in the country.

According to reports, Fan has a net worth of around $1.7 billion. As the chairman and CEO of China Renaissance, he has a total compensation of HKD$ 3,071,267 ($2,40,99,157).

Fan's abrupt disappearance has stirred speculation that China's finance industry would be facing increased government scrutiny. It is the latest in a series of cases of high-profile Chinese executives going missing over the years.

A few days before China Renaissance announced it could not contact its founder, Seazen Group, one of China's largest homebuilders, had announced its vice chairman Qu Dejun was missing.