Hong Kong
CNN
–
China Renaissance, the country’s top tech industry trader, said it would suspend trading in its shares and delay the release of its annual results because it still could not get in touch with its founder.
Bao Fan, 52, started Boutique Investment Bank in 2005 and has been inaccessible since the middle of February, according to the company. Chinese Renaissance stocks have plunged since Bao disappeared, at one point falling as much as 50%.
China Renaissance said in late February that 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 could help with an investigation linked to a former China Renaissance executive.
In a filing Sunday, China Renaissance said auditors could not complete their work or sign their report due to Bao’s absence. The board was also unable to give an estimate on when it would be able to approve its audited results for 2022 or send its annual report by a deadline of April 30, as required by Hong Kong’s listing rules.
Trading in the company’s shares was suspended from Monday.
Bao is known as a veteran profession which works closely with the best technology companies in China. He helped negotiate the 2015 merger between two of the country’s major 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 top anti-graft watchdog launched an investigation into Liu Liang, a former party secretary and chairman of 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 a broader financial crackdown by President Xi Jinping.
In January, Wang Bin, a former party chief and chairman of China Life Insurance, was charged by national-level prosecutors with taking bribes and savings abroad.
– Michelle Toh contributed reporting.
