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China Renaissance says missing founder Bao Fan is assisting Chinese authorities in an investigation
- The founder and chairman of China Renaissance is ‘cooperating in an investigation carried out by certain authorities’ on the mainland, the firm said
- The statement confirms wide speculation that Bao, who went missing more than a week ago, had been taken away by mainland authorities for questioning
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Daniel Renin Shanghai
Bao Fan, a rainmaker in China’s technology industry, is assisting Chinese authorities in an investigation, his company China Renaissance Holdings announced on Sunday, 10 days after it said its founder and chairman could not be contacted.
The investment banker, born in 1970, was “cooperating in an investigation carried out by certain authorities” in mainland China, the Hong Kong-listed company said in a stock exchange filing. It did not elaborate on whether the probe was conducted by China’s law-enforcement agencies or the Communist Party’s anti-corruption watchdog.
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Chinese billionaire tech banker Bao Fan reportedly missing, sending Renaissance shares tumbling
Chinese billionaire tech banker Bao Fan reportedly missing, sending Renaissance shares tumbling
The statement confirmed wide speculation that Bao, a well-known investment guru in China’s capital market, had been taken away by mainland authorities for questioning.
China Renaissance, established by Bao in 2005, is an influential “matchmaker” in the country’s internet sector, having worked on the mergers that resulted in some of China’s largest technology firms, including Didi Chuxing, Meituan and Trip.com.
Bao’s disappearance has triggered suspicion that deals made by China Renaissance over the years may have drawn government scrutiny. The company’s shares have plunged nearly 30 per cent since February 16, when it said Bao was unreachable.
“The board would like to reiterate that the business and operations of [China Renaissance] are continuing normally,” the firm, which went public in Hong Kong in 2018, said in its filing on Sunday.
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