Bao Fan, founder, chairman, and CEO of China Renaissance Group, an investment bank led by one of the country’s most famed rainmakers, holds a news conference on its IPO in Hong Kong on Sept. 13, 2018. Bobby Yip/Reuters
China’s “M&A King” Bao Fan has resurfaced nearly 30 months after his sudden disappearance in February 2023. Multiple independent sources confirmed to Chinese financial outlet Caixin that Bao was recently released from official custody.
At the time he vanished, Bao was one of China’s most influential and well-connected dealmakers, having played a central role in many of the country’s most prominent mergers and acquisitions. His disappearance sent shockwaves through China’s finance and tech sectors.
