China Renaissance Shares Sink As Founder Goes Missing

China Renaissance Holdings saw its shares plummet by as much as 50 percent on Friday after the boutique investment bank said it is unable to contact chairman and chief executive Bao Fan.

"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," the bank said in a filing to the Hong Kong stock exchange.

China Renaissance stock slid by 50 percent in early trade on Friday to hit a record low of HK$5, wiping off HK$2.8 billion in market value. It regained some ground to be off by 28 percent.

Bao, a well-known dealmaker, is China Renaissance's founder and controlling shareholder, having previously worked at Credit Suisse Group AG and Morgan Stanley.

He has been described as one of China's best-connected bankers and has worked on major technology mergers including the tie-up of ride-hailing champions Didi and Kuaidi, food delivery giants Meituan and Dianping, and travel devices platforms Ctrip and Qunar.

Bao started China Renaissance in 2005 and listed it in Hong Kong in 2018 after raising US$346 million. (Reuters)