Hong Kong
CNN
—
China Renaissance, one of the country’s leading technology dealmakers, said it would suspend trading in its shares and delay the release of its annual results because it still cannot get in touch with its founder.
Bao Fan, 52, launched his investment bank in 2005 and has been unreachable since the mid-2000s. February, according to the company. China Renaissance’s shares have plunged since Bao’s disappearance, at one point dropping as much as 50%.
In late February, China Renaissance said it had learned that Bao was “cooperating with an investigation” by some authorities in the country. It gave no further details.
Chinese media reported that Bao may be involved in an investigation related to a former China Renaissance executive.
In a filing Sunday, China Renaissance said auditors were unable to complete their work or sign their report due to Bao’s absence. The board was also unable to give an estimate of when it would be able to approve its 2022 audited results or release its annual report before the April 30 deadline, as required by Hong Kong listing rules.
As a result, trading in the company’s shares was suspended from Monday.
Bao is known as a seasoned negotiator He works closely with China’s biggest tech companies. He helped lead the 2015 merger of two of the country’s leading food delivery services, Meituan and Dianping. Today, the combined company’s “super app” platform is ubiquitous in China.
His team also invested in US-listed Chinese electric vehicle makers Nio (NIO) and Li Auto and helped Chinese internet giants Baidu (BIDU) and JD.com (JD) complete their secondary listings in Hong Kong.
Over the weekend, China’s anti-corruption watchdog launched an investigation into Liu Liange, former Party secretary and chairman of the Bank of China, according to a statement from the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the State Supervision Commission. The bank is state-owned and one of the country’s four largest lenders.
Liu is suspected of “serious violations of discipline and law,” the statement said. He is among the most senior financial executives targeted in President Xi Jinping’s sweeping financial crackdown.
In January, Wang Bin, a former Party chief and chairman of China Life Insurance, was charged by domestic prosecutors with accepting bribes and hiding savings overseas.
— Michelle Toh contributed reporting.
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