Missing Chinese investment banker and star dealmaker Bao Fan is cooperating with the relevant authorities in an investigation, his company China Renaissance Holdings said late Sunday.
The announcement comes almost two weeks after Bao's disappearance sparked fears of a renewed crackdown on China's financial services industry.
This is the first time the mainland China-based boutique bank has given a reason for the disappearance of its founder, though no details about the investigation were shared.
Since he went missing, China Renaissance Holdings Ltd.'s Hong Kong-listed shares have slumped as much as 29%. They were up 2.3% on Monday.
"The Board has become aware that Mr. Bao is currently cooperating in an investigation being carried out by certain authorities in the People's Republic of China," the company said in a stock market filing.
"The board would like to reiterate that the business and operations of the group are continuing normally."
Bao’s whereabouts are unclear. It is not unusual for Chinese authorities to detain people in the course of investigations without making any public announcements.
Citing sources, Reuters previously reported that authorities took Bao away earlier this month to assist in an investigation into a former colleague, Cong Lin, the company's former president.
"We can only say the negative factor affecting the share price has been digested," said Alex Wong, director of Alex KY Wong Asset Management Company Ltd. in Hong Kong.
Monday's share price gain was "limited" compared with the previous plunge, Wong said, adding that the company's update on Bao's whereabouts was not particularly positive piece news nor negative.
Bao is one of China’s top dealmakers in the technology industry, having worked on major deals including e-commerce company JD.com’s $2 billion initial public offering and the public listing of short video platform Kuaishou in Hong Kong.
He was involved with major technology mergers including the tie-up of ride-hailing firms Didi and Kuaidi, food delivery giants Meituan and Dianping, and travel devices platforms Ctrip and Qunar.
The Shanghai-born son of government workers, Bao, 52, has enjoyed a globe-trotting career that has seen him work for financial giants such as Morgan Stanley and Credit Suisse, including stints in the United States and Britain.
Bao founded China Renaissance in 2005, before he took it public in 2018, raising $346 million.
China Renaissance has become a global financial institution since its founding, with more than 700 employees and offices in Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Singapore and New York.
In 2015, Bao appeared on the Bloomberg Markets 50 Most Influential list, described as a "fast-talking" banker who had the ability to "arrange practically anything in China's vibrant tech scene."
A 2014 profile in The New York Times described him as a congenial man with a penchant for open-necked shirts and an interest in mixed martial arts.
Bao’s disappearance follows a crackdown on big technology companies in the past two years amid a sweeping anti-corruption campaign spearheaded by President Xi Jinping.
Anti-graft investigations targeting the financial sector have ensnared dozens of Chinese officials and finance executives at institutions such as Everbright Securities, China Construction Bank and major bank ICBC.
In 2015 alone, at least five executives became unreachable without prior notice to their companies, including Fosun Group Chairperson Guo Guangchang, who the company later said was assisting with investigations regarding a personal matter.