Chinese Dealmaker's Disappearance Sparks Trading Suspension and Delayed Financials for Top Investment Bank.
China Renaissance, a prominent player in China's tech industry, has suspended trading of its shares and delayed the release of its annual results amid uncertainty over its founder's whereabouts. Bao Fan, 52, who founded the boutique investment bank in 2005, has been unreachable since mid-February. His disappearance has led to a sharp decline in the company's stock price, with shares plummeting as much as 50%.
The situation took a turn for the worse when China Renaissance announced that auditors were unable to complete their work on the company's annual report due to Bao's absence. The board of directors was also unable to provide an estimate of when it would be able to approve its audited results, forcing the company to miss its deadline for dispatching its annual report by April 30.
The news comes as a major blow to Bao, who is known as a veteran dealmaker with close ties to top technology companies in China. He has played a key role in brokering several high-profile deals, including the merger between Meituan and Dianping in 2015. The combined company's "super app" platform is now ubiquitous in China.
Bao's team has also invested in US-listed Chinese electric vehicle makers Nio and Li Auto, as well as Chinese internet giants Baidu and JD.com. His disappearance has raised concerns about the potential implications for these deals, as well as other investments made by his firm.
Meanwhile, China's top anti-graft watchdog has launched an investigation into Liu Liange, former party secretary and chairman of Bank of China. The bank is state-owned and one of the country's four biggest lenders. Liu is suspected of "serious violations of discipline and law," according to a statement by the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the State Supervision Commission.
The latest developments come as part of a broader financial crackdown by President Xi Jinping, which has targeted several high-ranking officials in the finance sector. In January, Wang Bin, former party chief and chairman of China Life Insurance, was charged with taking bribes and hiding overseas savings.
Bao's disappearance has left investors and analysts wondering what exactly is going on at China Renaissance. The company has refused to comment further on the situation, but it remains to be seen how this will impact its financial prospects and reputation in the coming months.
China Renaissance, a prominent player in China's tech industry, has suspended trading of its shares and delayed the release of its annual results amid uncertainty over its founder's whereabouts. Bao Fan, 52, who founded the boutique investment bank in 2005, has been unreachable since mid-February. His disappearance has led to a sharp decline in the company's stock price, with shares plummeting as much as 50%.
The situation took a turn for the worse when China Renaissance announced that auditors were unable to complete their work on the company's annual report due to Bao's absence. The board of directors was also unable to provide an estimate of when it would be able to approve its audited results, forcing the company to miss its deadline for dispatching its annual report by April 30.
The news comes as a major blow to Bao, who is known as a veteran dealmaker with close ties to top technology companies in China. He has played a key role in brokering several high-profile deals, including the merger between Meituan and Dianping in 2015. The combined company's "super app" platform is now ubiquitous in China.
Bao's team has also invested in US-listed Chinese electric vehicle makers Nio and Li Auto, as well as Chinese internet giants Baidu and JD.com. His disappearance has raised concerns about the potential implications for these deals, as well as other investments made by his firm.
Meanwhile, China's top anti-graft watchdog has launched an investigation into Liu Liange, former party secretary and chairman of Bank of China. The bank is state-owned and one of the country's four biggest lenders. Liu is suspected of "serious violations of discipline and law," according to a statement by the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the State Supervision Commission.
The latest developments come as part of a broader financial crackdown by President Xi Jinping, which has targeted several high-ranking officials in the finance sector. In January, Wang Bin, former party chief and chairman of China Life Insurance, was charged with taking bribes and hiding overseas savings.
Bao's disappearance has left investors and analysts wondering what exactly is going on at China Renaissance. The company has refused to comment further on the situation, but it remains to be seen how this will impact its financial prospects and reputation in the coming months.
I'm kinda worried about Bao Fan's situation... as a dealmaker who knows so many top tech companies, he must have had some pretty high-stakes connections. If something happened to him, it could be huge for those companies and investors alike 
. But at the same time, I don't want to jump to conclusions - maybe there's more to this story than we know? 
China Renaissance's sudden suspension of trading and delay in financials is already causing some ripples in the market... hope everything gets sorted out soon 
u guys wudnt believe wot's happend wit Bao Fan from China Renaissance!!! He just disapearrd 
mid Feb & now his company is suspending trading & delaying their annual results 
Like, what's goin on?!? His shares dropped like 50% 
. Xi Jinping's financial crackdown seems 2 b gettin more intense 
... anywayz, we just gotta wait & see what happens wit Bao's company 
, and now everyone's all worried because they can't finish their yearly reports 
... 50% drop in stock price is crazy! 
... but seriously, what even happened to bao fan? 
did he just go for a super long vacation or something? 
his disappearance is like a puzzle with no clear answer 
it's crazy how this affects china renaissance's stock price - 50% down? 
that's insane! 
what's going on at his company? is there something fishy about these investments he made? 
what if its some kinda financial scandal? idk but china's president xi jinping seems like he's trying to clean up the finance sector but is this too much 
anyway, i just wanna know whats going on with bao fan and his company 
but now he just vanished into thin air... what's going on?! The stock price is tanking, the auditors can't finish their work, it's all super messy 
. And to make matters worse, Liu Liange from Bank of China got investigated too... it's like they're cleaning house or something 
. This whole thing feels like a big financial drama unfolding in real life 
anyways, hope he turns up soon and everything goes back to normal 
50% drop in stock price is crazy! I mean, I know Bao's a veteran dealmaker and all, but what's going on here? 
. What if something bad happened to him? And now there's an investigation into Liu Liange, former party secretary at Bank of China... it's getting all too intense 
.