Chinese tech billionaire goes missing: company

The Chinese billionaire chairman of investment bank China Renaissance has gone missing, the firm said, as shares in the company plunged in Hong Kong on Friday.

Bao Fan, who is also the executive director of the bank, is a major figure in the Chinese tech industry and has played a key role in the emergence of various domestic internet startups.

“The company has been unable to contact Mr Bao,” China Renaissance said in an announcement to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, without offering further details.

Shares in the firm slumped as much as 50 percent at one point following the statement before clawing back to sit around 30 percent down.

According to financial news outlet Caixin the 52-year-old dealmaker had been unreachable for two days as of Thursday evening.

China Renaissance was not immediately available for comment after being contacted by AFP.

Bao’s disappearance is now raising concerns over a possible renewed crackdown on China’s finance industry as President Xi Jinping persists in his long-standing crusade against corruption.

Willer Chen, the senior analyst at Forsyth Barr Asia, told Bloomberg that the executive’s continued absence “could be a long-term overhang on the stock, given Bao is the key man for the company”.