One of China’s most prolific investment bankers has disappeared, his company reported.
Bao Fan, chief executive officer of China Renaissance Holdings, has not been available for the past few days, the company said in a market update on Thursday.
Mr. Bao is a leading deal broker in China whose clients include top tech companies Didi and Meituan.
His firm’s announcement has renewed concerns about possible Beijing crackdowns on business and technology leaders.
Shares in China Renaissance plunged 50% in Hong Kong trading on Friday after the company said in its statement to the stock market that it “was unable to contact Mr. Bao Fan.”
“There is no information known to indicate that Mr. Bao’s unavailability is or could be related to the business and/or operations of the group.”
The company did not say how long Mr. Bao had been missing. Chinese business intelligence service Caixin quoted sources as saying staff could not reach him for two days.
Mr. Bao founded China Renaissance in 2005 as a boutique advisory investment firm. Since then, it has grown into one of China’s leading financial institutions – leading deals and mergers among several of the country’s technology companies.
The major bank advised on the IPOs of JD.com and Kuashou, as well as Didi’s listing on the New York Stock Exchange in 2021.
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