China Renaissance founder Bao Fan ‘released’ more than 2 years after sudden disappearance

Star investment banker Bao Fan – who helped introduce many of China’s largest technology companies to the capital markets of Hong Kong and New York – has been set free, more than two years after he started “cooperating” in an unspecified investigation launched by mainland authorities.

According to a report by Chinese financial media outlet Caixin, which cited multiple sources, the 54-year-old founder of China Renaissance Holdings “has recently been released”.

During his absence, Bao resigned as chairman and CEO of the investment bank he founded in 2005. The firm was listed in Hong Kong in 2018. He remains the controlling shareholder of China Renaissance, while his wife Hui Yin-ching serves as chairwoman.

News of the Chinese financier’s release could provide some degree of relief for the company, which became a buyout target last year and saw its stock plummet when it resumed trading last September after a 17-month suspension.