Bao Fan, the Chinese billionaire banker who was previously reported missing, reappears to tender his resignation.

Chinese billionaire banker Bao Fan, who has been missing for almost a year, has resigned from his financial firm, China Renaissance Holdings Ltd. The bank stated that he stepped down "for health reasons and to spend more time on his family affairs." His unexplained disappearance in February last year shocked China's business and investing community. Shortly after, China Renaissance stated that he was cooperating with authorities who were conducting an investigation. The company announced that its co-founder, Xie Yi Jing, will take over Mr. Bao's responsibilities. The bank also mentioned that Mr. Bao has no disagreements with the board and there are no other matters related to his resignation that need to be disclosed to shareholders. However, no information regarding Mr. Bao's whereabouts was provided. He was one of China's most prominent bankers and had high-profile clients such as Tencent, Alibaba, and Baidu. In February, China Renaissance disclosed that Mr. Bao was cooperating in an investigation by Chinese authorities. This announcement marked the first time the bank provided a reason for his disappearance. His disappearance occurred amidst a crackdown on leading technology companies by Chinese authorities. Another notable figure, Alibaba founder Jack Ma, also vanished from the public eye for three months in late 2020 after making critical comments about market regulators. He was set to publicly list his digital payments firm Ant Financial, which would have potentially made him the richest individual in China.