“When the hare dies, the fox is terrified,” the saying goes. Understand: when an attack occurs, the entire surrounding environment begins to fear for its life. The proverb is Chinese. It would describe, according to some tech players, the state of mind that would reign in the sector, after the recent disappearance of a new major player, Bao Fan.
A key figure in the new technologies sector, and the umpteenth billionaire presumed victim of the wrath of the Chinese regime, this star banker, in a way the equivalent of a Peter Thiel or an Elon Musk, essential investors in the United States, does not has not been heard from since February 16, when its main company, China Renaissance, raised concerns about it.
This Sunday evening, two weeks later, China Renaissance finally indicated that it had learned that Bao Fan was currently cooperating with an investigation carried out by “certain authorities” in mainland China. The fact remains that the person concerned has still not given any sign of life. “The company will duly cooperate and attend to any legal request from the relevant authorities of the People’s Republic of China, if any,” the group added.
Chinese tech financial strategist
Chinese President Xi Jinping has led a crusade against corruption in recent years, which has landed many business leaders in prison, particularly in the financial and new technology sectors. Before Bao Fan, Jack Ma, founder of Alibaba, or even Xiao Jianhua, a Chinese-Canadian banker, were the target of this bringing to heel of the sector.
Bao Fan, 52, is a central player in Chinese tech. Sensing the vein of digital, he notably founded China Renaissance in 2004, a major Chinese private investment bank, specializing in investments in tech. His strategy? Focus on promising companies that are still too small to attract funds from the big players. China Renaissance currently employs over 700 employees worldwide.
In a few years, by dint of “big hits”, he established himself as one of the kingmakers in the sector. Didi, the Chinese equivalent of Uber? He is behind. Meituan, the equivalent of Uber Eats? He also pushed him. Recent accomplishments include the IPO of e-commerce giant JD for $1.78 billion in the United States, and microblogging app Weibo for $286 million. The action of China Renaissance has completely unscrewed since its disappearance.
Serial disappearances
More than an investor, Bao Fan is one of the thinkers of Chinese tech, convinced of the interest of free trade, and a supporter of moderate state intervention in business, according to a portrait devoted to him in THE New York Times. What anger the regime? Nothing filters, but the recurrence of disappearances of this type since the 2020s, after the explosion of the tech sector, the peak of which would be around 2016, says a lot about Xi Jinping’s desire for power. Bao Fan’s media appearances have been increasingly rare in recent years.
This disappearance is reminiscent of that of the Canadian tycoon of Chinese origin, Xiao Jianhua, who vanished in 2017 from a hotel in Hong Kong. Reputed to be close to the top Chinese Communist leaders, he had, according to press reports, been abducted by Beijing agents. Xiao Jianhua was at the time of his arrest one of the richest men in China, with an estimated fortune of $6 billion. The ex-businessman was finally sentenced last year to 13 years in prison for fraud.
Another disappearance had also attracted attention. For several months, the founder of Alibaba Jack Ma disappeared into thin air, without anyone knowing precisely why, and how. Reappeared since, he still suffered a loss of income estimated at 25 billion dollars when the authorities abruptly canceled the IPO of his group in 2020.
Other big bosses fear being the next target of the Communist Party, or having to sell their business at a low price, an accounting manager in this sector told AFP. Recent retaliation by authorities against tech billionaires, stars who had neglected to pay their taxes, and three years of “zero Covid” policies, have prompted wealthy Chinese to seek refuge. Latest Eden to date for these “too powerful”? Singapore.