China Renaissance, a renowned dealmaker in the tech industry of the country, has made an announcement that it will halt the trading of its shares and postpone the release of its annual results due to the inability to contact its founder. Bao Fan, the 52-year-old founder, established this boutique investment bank in 2005 and has been unreachable since mid-February. The company’s shares have seen a significant drop, plummeting by up to 50% ever since Bao’s disappearance.
China Renaissance disclosed in late February that Bao was assisting in an investigation conducted by certain authorities in the country. While the details remain undisclosed, Chinese media have speculated that the investigation might be related to a former executive at the company. As a consequence of Bao’s absence, auditors were unable to finalize their work or authorize their report, and the board could not predict when they would approve the audited results for 2022 or distribute the annual report by the April 30 deadline stipulated by Hong Kong’s listing regulations. Consequently, trading of the company’s shares has been suspended as of Monday.
Bao is recognized as an accomplished dealmaker who collaborates closely with prominent technology firms in China. He played a pivotal role in negotiating the merger between Meituan and Dianping, two leading food delivery services in 2015. The resulting combined company’s “super app” platform is now widespread in China. Additionally, his team has made investments in Chinese electric vehicle makers Nio and Li Auto listed on US stock exchanges, as well as facilitated the secondary listings of Chinese internet giants Baidu and JD.com in Hong Kong.
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Moreover, over the weekend, China’s prominent anti-graft watchdog initiated an inquiry into Liu Liange, the former party secretary and chairman of Bank of China, on suspicion of violating laws and discipline. This investigation is part of a broader financial cleanup spearheaded by President Xi Jinping, targeting senior financial executives. Preceding this, Wang Bin, the former party chief and chairman of China Life Insurance, faced charges of bribery and concealing overseas assets filed by national-level prosecutors in January.
**Michelle Toh contributed reporting.**