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The Indicator from Planet Money

A tech billionaire goes missing in China

The Indicator from Planet Money

NPR

Business

4.79.2K Ratings

🗓️ 19 April 2023

⏱️ 9 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Earlier this year, Bao Fan, a prominent Chinese banker and tech billionaire, went missing in China. According to a statement from his company, he's "cooperating in an investigation being carried out by certain authorities in the People's Republic of China." The details are very murky, but his disappearance raises questions about doing business in China right now.

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Transcript

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0:00.0

NPR.

0:03.0

Hey everyone, it's Darian Woods.

0:12.9

This is the indicator from planet money.

0:15.2

In China, the government has been trying really hard to get the economy back on track

0:20.3

after three years of harsh COVID restrictions.

0:23.2

A big part of its message these days is that China is open for business again.

0:29.0

But it might not be so simple.

0:31.7

Is anything ever really so simple, Darian?

0:35.0

Not when you have to ask that question.

0:36.6

So to down the show, I'm joined by NPR's China correspondent, John Ruich.

0:40.8

Welcome, John.

0:41.9

Thanks, Darian.

0:42.9

Good to be here.

0:43.9

So we're going to talk about something that happened a couple of months ago in China

0:46.9

that raises some questions about that notion, whether China is open for business.

0:52.8

Yeah.

0:53.8

A few weeks ago, a man named Balfon went missing in China.

0:58.2

Balfon is a banker.

0:59.2

In fact, he's probably one of China's most famous deal makers in the technology sector.

1:04.5

He runs an investment firm called China Renaissance.

1:07.8

China Renaissance got its start in the mid-2000s.

1:10.3

It did well over the years.

...

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