Chinese Tech Dealmaker Bao Fan Goes Missing

China Renaissance Holdings says it has been unable to contact its Chairman and CEO Bao Fan, a well-known dealmaker involved in some of the country’s most prominent transactions.

Shares of CR Holdings plunged as much as 50% on Friday after it issued a filing the evening before that revealed the investment bank had been unable to reach Bao. The Beijing-based company said it isn’t aware of any information indicating the disappearance of Bao, who is also the firm’s controlling shareholder, is related to the business of CR Holdings, and it maintains that operations are continuing as usual.

A company representative, in the meantime, didn’t immediately respond to an emailed request seeking comment. In China, the word shi lian, or out of contact, is often used as a euphemism for people under investigation. But it doesn’t necessarily imply wrongdoing, as the missing person could also be assisting authorities with other matters. Chinese billionaire Guo Guangchang, the chairman of conglomerate Fosun, went missing in 2015, before resurfacing a few days later. Guo was said to be helping officials with an unspecified investigation.

Still, the incident around Bao comes at a sensitive time. Although China has eased its crackdown on the private sector as Beijing seeks to shore up the country’s slowing economy, officials continue to closely scrutinize particular sectors including the internet and real estate.

Bao came to prominence when China’s technology companies were growing at a blistering pace. The former investment banker at Morgan Stanley and Credit Suisse founded China Renaissance in 2005, and had gone on to advise over a dozen high-profile deals, including the mega mergers between ride-hailing platforms Didi and Kuaidi, food delivery startup Meituan with restaurant review site Dianping as well as local services platform 58 Tongcheng and Ganji.

CR Holdings had also acted as a bookrunner for e-commerce behemoth JD.com’s $2 billion IPO in the U.S. in 2014, and then performed the same role for the $5.4 billion listing of short video platform Kuaishou in Hong Kong in 2021.

Aside from investment banking, the firm has established its own investment arm, which according to its website manages about 49 billion yuan ($7.1 billion) in total assets. It has backed upstarts including Li Xiang’s electric car maker Li Auto and William Li’s EV firm Nio, as well as Li Ge’s pharmaceutical firm WuXi AppTec.

And he has expanded into wealth management and securities trading as well. But the company’s business has taken a hit last year, amid the crackdown on the internet sector and draught of new listings in Hong Kong. According to its interim report, CR Holdings generated $87.8 million in revenues in the first six months of 2022, a plunge of more than 40% from the same period a year ago. It swung into the red after earning a profit of $178.7 million in the first half of 2021.