Chinese investment bank China Renaissance has suspended trading of its shares and delayed the release of its annual results due to the unavailability of its founder, Bao Fan. The 52-year-old entrepreneur, who started the boutique investment bank in 2005, has been unreachable since mid-February, according to the company.
The situation has taken a significant toll on China Renaissance' stock price, with shares plummeting as much as 50% since Bao's disappearance. In late February, the company reported that Bao was "cooperating" with an investigation by certain authorities in China but did not provide further details.
Chinese media have speculated that Bao might be assisting in an investigation related to a former executive at China Renaissance, although this has not been confirmed by the company.
As a result of Bao's absence, auditors were unable to complete their work or sign off on their report for China Renaissance' 2022 financial results. The board was also unable to provide an estimate of when it would be able to approve its audited results or dispatch its annual report by the required April 30 deadline.
Trading in China Renaissance' shares was suspended from Monday, and the company's performance is expected to be severely impacted until Bao is found and able to resume his duties.
The situation has taken a significant toll on China Renaissance' stock price, with shares plummeting as much as 50% since Bao's disappearance. In late February, the company reported that Bao was "cooperating" with an investigation by certain authorities in China but did not provide further details.
Chinese media have speculated that Bao might be assisting in an investigation related to a former executive at China Renaissance, although this has not been confirmed by the company.
As a result of Bao's absence, auditors were unable to complete their work or sign off on their report for China Renaissance' 2022 financial results. The board was also unable to provide an estimate of when it would be able to approve its audited results or dispatch its annual report by the required April 30 deadline.
Trading in China Renaissance' shares was suspended from Monday, and the company's performance is expected to be severely impacted until Bao is found and able to resume his duties.
... can't believe a founder just goes missing like that 
... it's bad enough when people skip town but not your own bank 
... shares dropping 50%? that's crazy 
... hope Bao shows up soon or they'll be in big trouble 
... what if it's something more serious than just a simple investigation? 
... anyway, this is gonna impact so many people who invested in China Renaissance 
... fingers crossed for a good resolution 
. At least with those, they usually have some sort of cover story or spin. But Bao Fan just... vanished into thin air 
. I'm guessing we'll be hearing a lot more about this in the coming weeks 
need to know what's happening with Bao ASAP so this drama can end. 
and now auditors are all like "we can't do our thing" because Bao's MIA. it's not like he just forgot to show up to work, right? there must be some real drama going on behind the scenes. who's investigating him and why is no one talking about that? 
and now shares are suspended... this whole thing reeks of some shady stuff. where's the transparency? 
. I mean, think about it - Bao Fan, the founder, is basically the CEO of his own company, right? So when he disappears without warning, what kind of message does that send to investors and stakeholders? It's like a huge "out of office" sign for China Renaissance... but instead of checking email, they're stuck waiting for their leader to come back online 
.