Bao Fan, the chairman and chief executive of China Renaissance investment bank, has gone missing, the firm said. 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.
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.
Shares in the firm slumped as much as 50% at one point after the statement, before clawing back to sit at about 30% down. Bao’s disappearance has brought back memories of an earlier crackdown on senior executives of Chinese private firms, including Jack Ma, the founder of online retailer Alibaba.
The board added it was 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.
China Renaissance appears to not have commented on Mr Cong's situation. He is no longer listed as an executive on the company's site or in its most recent interim report.
The disappearance of Mr Bao - one of China's leading tech investors - has again evoked a history of Chinese executives suddenly vanishing for periods of time with no explanation.