China Renaissance, a leading investment bank in the nation, claimed to have lost contact with its founder Bao Fan, one of the most prominent bankers in the nation and a key dealmaker in the tech sector.
Shares of China Renaissance Holdings fell sharply on Friday. The company stated in a filing to Hong Kong’s stock exchange on Thursday that it had been unable to get in touch with Mr. Bao, who had worked on significant transactions like the initial public offering of the short video platform Kuaishou in Hong Kong and the $2 billion (£1.6 billion) e-commerce company JD.com.
According to the corporation, there is “no information that indicates Mr. Bao’s non-availability” is connected to the group’s operations.
Following a crackdown on major technological businesses over the previous two years that Chinese officials claimed had been over, Mr. Bao vanished. On Friday in Hong Kong, shares of China Renaissance dropped by as much as 50%. In the afternoon, they had fallen by around 28%.
On Friday, inquiries for comment from China Renaissance did not receive an instant response. When questioned about the circumstance at a news briefing, Wang Wenbin, a spokeswoman for the foreign ministry, stated he was unaware of it.
“I would like to stress that China is a country under rule of law, and the Chinese government protects the rights and interests of Chinese citizens in accordance with the law,” he said.
According to the Chinese news site Caixin, which broke the story first, Mr. Bao’s disappearance comes months after former China Renaissance president Cong Lin was abducted by Chinese police in September of last year.
Many politicians and financial professionals from organizations like Everbright Securities, China Construction Bank, and big bank ICBC have been caught up in investigations in China aimed at the financial sector.
Before this, Mr. Bao worked for Morgan Stanley and Credit Suisse. China Renaissance was started by him in 2005, and when he went public in 2018, it raised 346 million hh dollars (£289 million).