Of all the Chinese dealmakers hired by international investment banks over the past decade Fang Fenglei is the only one who is not fluent in English and does not have a western degree.
In spite of this fact, or possibly because of it, he is by far the most nimble navigator in the treacherous territory where global finance and Chinese politics meet.
Mr Fang came under the spotlight yesterday when the volume of share dealing in China Construction Bank soared, fuelling suspicions that some buyers – including Hopu Investment Management, a private equity group run by Mr Fang – of Bank of America's $7.3bn sell-down had flipped their holdings to pocket huge gains.