- China Renaissance said it “has not been in contact with Mr. Bao Fan,” according to a filing late Thursday with the Hong Kong stock exchange.
- The Beijing-based investment bank is operating normally, the filing said.
- Bao is the company’s controlling shareholder, as well as chairman, executive director and CEO.
Bao Fan, founder and chief executive officer of China Renaissance, spoke at a conference in California in 2016.
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BEIJING – Prominent Chinese investment banker Bao Fan has gone missing, his company China Renaissance Holdings said Thursday.
China Renaissance said it “has not been in contact with Mr. Bao Fan,” according to a filing with the Hong Kong stock exchange.
The Beijing-based fund manager and investment bank is operating normally, the filing said.
Bao is the company’s controlling shareholder, as well as chairman, executive director and CEO. He did not immediately respond when contacted by CNBC about the news.
China Renaissance shares fell more than 20% in Hong Kong trading Friday.
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Alibaba-affiliate Ant Group is one of three major investors in China Renaissance that led its own listing in Hong Kong in 2018. In late 2020, Chinese authorities abruptly suspended Ant’s plans for a large initial public offering.
China Renaissance has played an important role in China’s internet technology world over the past decade. The investment bank advised Meituan and Dianping on their major merger, and subsequent IPO in Hong Kong.
China Renaissance is also the adviser on the merger that became Didi, and an underwriter on the ride-hailing giant’s US IPO in June 2021.
Chinese authorities began tightening their scrutiny of overseas listings that summer.
Days after Didi’s IPO, authorities announced a cybersecurity review of the company, halting new user registrations. The company delisted later that year. Didi said last month it had received approval to re-register new users.
Despite the increased caution in investing in China after Didi’s IPO, China Renaissance’s Huaxing Growth Capital announced in October 2021 that it has received nearly $550 million in a funding close.
The Chinese financial news outlet Caixin pointed out that Bao’s disappearance was after Cong Lin’s investigation.
Cong was chairman of China Renaissance subsidiary Huajing Securities until earlier this month, according to business records database Tianyancha.
The China Securities Regulatory Commission Shanghai bureau said in September that Huajing violated securities law requirements regarding corporate governance, and asked Cong to carry out an investigation.
China Renaissance’s filing about Bao Fan did not mention the investigation, and a representative did not share additional information when contacted.
The company’s official WeChat account included announcements dated this week and last month with quotes from Bao. A post from early December shows Bao attending a recent event in Beijing.