By Bingyan Wang
Shares of China Renaissance Holdings Ltd. are sharply lower after the company disclosed that it has been unable to reach high-profile financier Fan Bao, the company’s chairman and controlling shareholder.
The Hong Kong-listed financial firm shed as much as 50% in morning trade Friday before pulling back to a 28% drop to HK$7.10. If shares stay that low, it would mark the company’s biggest one-day loss since its listing in 2018.
China Renaissance said Thursday night that it hadn’t been able to contact Bao Fan, who also serves as chief executive. It added that the board isn’t aware of any information indicating that Mr. Bao’s unavailability is related to the group’s business or operations, which it said are continuing normally.
Mr. Bao, a former investment banker with Morgan Stanley and Credit Suisse, co-founded China Renaissance in 2005 and controls nearly 60% of the company.
He advised on a merger that combined two online ride-hailing services into a tech giant now known as Didi Global Inc. and on a merger that created the online company Meituan, and the company’s flagship fund has invested in tech companies including WuXi AppTec Co., Bilibili Inc., Li Auto Inc. and SenseTime Group Inc.
Write to Bingyan Wang at bingyan.wang@wsj.com
Mr. Bao advised on a merger that combined two online ride-hailing services into a tech giant now known as Didi Global Inc. and on a merger that created the online company Meituan. “China Renaissance Shares Fall After Chairman Bao Fan Went Missing,” at 0250 GMT, incorrectly said that he advised on the merger of Didi and Meituan.
Further to the correction on mergers, Mr. Bao controls around 50% of the company. “China Renaissance Shares Fall After Chairman Bao Fan Went Missing,” at 0250 GMT, incorrectly said he controls nearly 60% of the company.
