On the evening of February 16th, China Renaissance, a top investment bank that primarily focuses on China's technology and new economy sectors, announced that it was temporarily unable to contact the company's chairman of the board, CEO, and controlling shareholder, Bao Fan.

In a statement Thursday to the Hong Kong stock exchange where the firm is listed, the company said, "the board is 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 which is continuing normally.”

Bao controls nearly 60% of China Renaissance, according to Hong Kong stock exchange data. Publicly traded in 2018, the company counts Neil Shen, a well-known banker who runs the investment firm Sequoia China, as an early investor.

Prior to founding the investment company, Bao worked for Morgan Stanley and Credit Suisse and has seven years of investment banking experience on Wall Street, helping several leading multinational companies raise funds, bank loans, mergers and acquisitions, and other transactions.

China Renaissance has acted as an advisor in several high-profile Chinese technology transactions, including the merger between Didi and Alibaba-backed Kuaidi. The deal ended China's money-burning war in the ride-hailing space, and made Didi become an absolute leader in the industry.

It also played a crucial role in Didi's IPO. In June 2021, Didi went public on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), raising more than $4 billion. China Renaissance was one of the underwriters for Didi's IPO, along with Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and JPMorgan Chase.

However, shortly after the mega IPO, Didi was ordered to remove its app from China's app stores due to cybersecurity reviews and later voluntarily delisted from the NYSE in 2022, citing uncertainty and regulatory risk.

In addition to Didi, China Renaissance also participated in the IPOs of KE Holdings and JD Health in 2020, as well as Kuaishou Technology's Hong Kong listing in February 2021.