Well-Known Chinese Financier Is Unreachable, His Firm Says
Fan Bao built China Renaissance by advising some of China’s most dynamic technology companies
Fan Bao, a well-known deal maker in China’s technology sector, has been unreachable, according to the investment bank he founded.
Shares of the bank, China Renaissance Holdings Ltd. 1911 -28.60% , plummeted on Friday morning in Hong Kong trading, losing more than a fifth of their value.
The financial firm said it has not been able to contact its chairman, chief executive and controlling shareholder. “The board is not aware of any information that indicates that Mr. Bao’s unavailability is or might be related to the business and/or operations of the group which is continuing normally,” China Renaissance said in a statement late Thursday.
Mr. Bao gained a reputation for close links to some of China’s most dynamic technology companies, and his profile grew with frequent appearances on the stages of international financial conferences. The veteran of Morgan Stanley and Credit Suisse, who is in his early 50s, runs a firm that has advised on mergers of major Chinese technology companies and which lists a number of investment funds in its annual report.
Among Mr. Bao’s claims to fame in the Chinese financial sphere was advising on a merger that combined two online ride-hailing services into a tech giant now known as Didi Global Inc. Like some other companies in China’s tech space, Didi has since faced government regulatory scrutiny that hurt its market value in recent years. He also advised on a merger that created the online company Meituan.
Mr. Bao controls around 50% of China Renaissance, according to Hong Kong stock exchange data.
The firm, with offices in Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong and New York, says it employs 700 and generated 1.74 billion yuan in revenue in 2021, or about $254 million, according to its latest annual report published last March. It tallied assets under management of 49 billion yuan. At the time, China Renaissance said the investment management segment of its business generated 36% of group revenue.
The firm claims a wide-ranging business in finance including investment management, international underwriting, wealth management, advisory and business related to Chinese stocks. Some of its operations use the name Huaxing.
“China Renaissance has been constantly reinventing itself and implementing new growth drivers,” Mr. Bao wrote in the annual report.
When Renaissance went public in 2018 it described Mr. Fan as its co-founder along with Xie Yi Jing, a former banker at Credit Suisse. Its prospectus said Mr. Bao was a China citizen and that an investment vehicle that he used to invest in the firm was co-owned with his spouse, Hui Yin Ching. An early investor and director of the firm was Neil Shen, another high-profile banker who runs investment firm Sequoia China.
Corrections & Amplifications
Fan Bao gave advice on mergers to the predecessor companies of Didi and Meituan. An earlier version of this article incorrectly said he advised on the merger of Didi and Meituan. Also, Mr. Bao today owns nearly 50% of China Renaissance. An earlier version of this article incorrectly said he owns about 60%.