Boutique funding financial institution China Renaissance Holdings Ltd on Thursday stated it has been unable to contact its Chairman and Chief Government Bao Fan. “The board shouldn’t be conscious of any data that signifies that Mr. Bao’s unavailability is or could be associated to the enterprise and or operations of the Group which is constant usually,” the Hong Kong listed firm stated.

Following the information, shares of China Renaissance plunged as a lot as 50% in early Hong Kong buying and selling on Friday, Bloomberg reported. Bloomberg quoting sources stated that Bao was helping authorities in an investigation involving former China Renaissance President Cong Lin.

Bao is a widely known dealmaker in China who has carved out a profession engaged on high-profile tech transactions. He began China Renaissance in 2005.

Bao can be China Renaissance’s controlling shareholder, in line with the alternate submitting.

China Renaissance was listed on the Hong Kong Inventory Alternate in 2018 after it raised $346 million.

Bao labored on China’s main know-how mergers together with the tie-up of ride-hailing champions Didi and Kuaidi, meals supply giants Meituan and Dianping and journey units platforms Ctrip and Qunar. He had beforehand labored at Credit score Suisse Group AG and Morgan Stanley and had been described as the most effective linked bankers in China. China Renaissance has suggested a few of China’s greatest tech preliminary public choices together with JD.Com Inc, Kuaishou Know-how and Didi’s itemizing in New York in 2021.

China Renaissance can be an energetic investor within the tech sector. In 2019, it raised greater than 6.5 billion yuan ($945 million) in a yuan-denominated fund.

Bao’s dissaperance got here amid China’s anti-corruption probe that began in late 2021 concentrating on the nation’s $60 trillion monetary sector. The probe has additionally implicated the funding banking neighborhood, ensnaring bankers from brokerages together with Everbright Securities Co. and Guotai Junan Securities Co. Nevertheless, China has lately eased its stance towards the personal sector, lauding Ant Group Co. for following the Communist Occasion’s management and resuming ride-hailing service Didi in app shops. China has additionally issued sweeping measure to prop up the true property sector.

With Inputs from Reuters and Bloomberg