China Huaxing Capital Sunday (26th) issued an announcement confirmed that Bao Fan, chairman of the board of directors who lost contact for 10 days, is currently cooperating with the investigation by relevant Chinese authorities.
Bao Fan will start from February 16.The Chinese media Caixin quoted the sources that night that Bao Fan did not appear in office and public in a few days, nor did he contact the outside world.One hour later, Huaxing issued a statement on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange confirmed that he could not contact Bao Fan, but did not provide details.
A thunder in a flat ground, investors in Chinese shopping malls lost contact, and news caused many speculations in the financial industry.
Some insiders of Huaxing believe that Bao Fan's loss or the former president of the group was taken away in September 2022.A relevant person in the technology information website "Titanium Media" also revealed that Bao Fan's loss is mainly related to the illegal operation of the jungle in the ship rental business.There are also rumors that Huaxing served as the only domestic underwriter when it was listed in the United States in 2021.
Some netizens also tried to find clues through Bao Fan's social media account.Bao Fan's WeChat circle of friends showed that he had not been updated for more than a month before he lost contact, and the last time he reposted an article on January 9th the Huaxing Investment Public Account.On January 3, Bao Fan also reposted Huaxing's annual review.
Bao Fan's last appear in the public field of vision was early December last year.At that time, he was attending an award ceremony of the 2022 Future Science Award.A close investor revealed to the Science and Technology Board Daily that Bao Fan also talked to him on February 7, but the phone turned off after the phone.At present, Huaxing's official website still lists Bao Fan as the first member of the team.
The news of Bao Fan's loss caused a huge wave in the market.The news of the day after the news came out, Huaxing suffered diving, and the decline was as high as 50%. The closing price was HK $ 7.16 (S $ 1.23).
Who is Bao Fan?
Why did Bao Fan lose contact with such a big shock?
52 -year -old Bao Fan was born in Shanghai Foreign Communications Family, graduated from Shanghai Fudan University, and obtained a master's degree in business and economics from the Norwegian School of Management in 1995.
Bao Fan was selected as the 50 most influential figures in the world in Bloomberg in 2015. Before the establishment of Huaxing Capital in 2005, he worked in Morgan Stanley and Credit Switzerland. He has seven years of experience in Wall Street investment banking.
He returned to China in 2000 as the chief strategic officer of the software and service provider Yaxin Group, directly participating in the acquisition plan of multiple technology companies, and exposed to many high -tech startups that have experienced rapid growth.
The development of China's Internet industry was just beginning, and few people were willing to provide financing for innovation companies.Bao Fan saw business opportunities, the idea of entrepreneurship, and set up investment banks to promote the development of the field.
Founding Huaxing Promoting the Development of Starts
Huaxing Capital originally aimed at the three major industries: "TMT" (technology, media and communications), medical care and consumer goods. At the beginning, it mainly worked in private financing financial advisory business.Fields.
Bao Fan led Huaxing Capital to become the road of "China Goldman Sachs" and "China Damo", prompting multiple IPOs and mergers and acquisitions projects in China's new economic field.For example, participating in the huge IPO of JD, matching Didi and Fast, 58 City and Ganji.com, Meituan and Volkswagen Comment, such as "marriage".
Bao Fan's reputation with many mergers and acquisitions is known as "Capital Madam", "King of M & A", "King of China's New Economic and Financial Services" and so on.Huaxing Capital is also regarded as the strongest Internet M & A strength in China.
In September 2018, Huaxing was listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.According to the late LatePost statistics, the company led 12%of M & A transactions in mainland China technology, media and communications markets before listing, and 20%of equity financing.
Huaxing has obtained the securities business license in mainland China, Hong Kong, the United States, and Singapore, and has completed Sina Weibo, Momo, Shenzhou Car Rental, Pinduoduo, Sogou, Huami Technology, iQiyi and other companies in the past 10 years.Overseas listing underwriting.
Some netizens ridiculed, "Bao Fan contracted 90%of the APP in the netizen's mobile phone."
In recent years, Huaxing has also invested in the fields of new energy, health care, artificial intelligence and other fields.According to the data of Rui Beast's analysis, Huaxing's invested enterprises have been born 24 unicorn beasts.
According to the incomplete statistics of Phoenix.com's storm eye, since 2007, Huaxing has invested more than 90 companies through its fund, with a total investment of more than 11.4 billion Hong Kong dollars.
China recently strengthened financial anti -corruption
Bao Fan was investigated in the context of China's continuous anti -corruption in China's recent anti -corruption.In the past month, Chinese financial institutions, especially bank cadres, have changed their personnel, including four deputy ministerial financial executives.
Bao Fan disappeared a week later, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China Disciplinary Inspection Commission published an article entitled to resolutely win the fight against corruption struggle for anti -corruption struggle last Thursday (February 23).The article mentioned "finance" 16 times and stated that it is necessary to break the wrong ideas such as "financial elite theory" and "only money theory", rectify the "hidden rules" and unhealthy winds in the industry, and continue to increase corruption in the fields of financial and state -owned enterprises.Question punishment. In addition to the financial industry, China's regulatory agencies have also strengthened supervision of science and technology giants in the past two years to prevent the disorderly expansion of capital.At the end of last year, there were signs that Chinese officials were preparing to suspend related actions to avoid economic deterioration.
Bao Fan was investigated and caused the outside world to worry, and the Chinese government's rectification of technology companies has not stopped.
South China Morning Post reported that Ding Haifeng, a consultant of an investment consulting company, said whether the investigation of Bao Fan's incident would spread to other people or enterprises, and it remains to be observed.However, many investors are currently worried that the Chinese government will strengthen supervision of the field of science and technology.
According to the New York Times, a senior executive who has known Bao Fan for more than ten years describes the mood of his peers with "Rabbit Dead Fox Sadness, Cold Lips and Cold Cold".He said that Bao Fan was investigated is not a personal business, it was a matter of the entire industry, and it was related to the survival of investors and entrepreneurs.
Where does Huaxing go?
Reuters quoted a person who knew Bao Fan said that Huaxing's stock price was cut off in Bao Fan's loss the next day, indicating that Huaxing is still a business model with key figures as the core, and corporate governance risks are greater.
In fact, Bao Fan had long realized this and repeatedly stated that Huaxing would "go to Bao Fanhua".He said, "Without Bao Fan, Huaxing has no past, but only Bao Fan, Huaxing has no future."
Now that the head is absent, Huaxing has to accelerate "going to Bao Fanghua", but this is estimated to take a long time. Whether success is observed or not.
After Bao Fan lost contact, the co -cooperation with Huaxing is in the bottom of the business risks such as loans.According to Bloomberg, people familiar with the matter said that the credit banks such as Shanghai Pudong Development Bank, Bank of Communications, CITIC Bank and China Merchants Bank requested Huaxing Capital to provide more information about Bao Fan.
Chinese entrepreneurs quoted Duan and Duan Law Firm partner Chen Rujian on February 17, saying that if Bao Fan cooperates with the investigation, the relevant departments have a certain detention period, generally 24 hours, three or seven days, the longest is the longest, the longest is37 days."If this period is over, that is, by the end of March this year, the parties have no news, which means that the procuratorate may have been arrested."
Chen Rujian believes that once the detention period is stretched, subsequent exchanges, regulators, banks and other aspects will come to inquire.In order to ensure the company's normal operation, Huaxing will have to change, which may trigger Huaxing's 300 million US dollars of overseas financing default clauses.
Huaxing successfully completed a US $ 300 million overseas syndicated loan in 2021, and signed a financing agreement with the synchronization in the process.The agreement stipulates that if Bao Fan is no longer a single shareholder of Huaxing Capital or the chairman of the board of directors, it will trigger forced repayment.
In addition, according to the annual report, as of December 31, 2021, Huaxing still has a total of 2.21 billion yuan (RMB and S $ 430 million), which has not repaid bank loans, of which two -year and no more than five years loans areRMB 1.339 billion.
The Finance News Agency reports that a large financial institution person describes that this is often a straw of a mature enterprise.Once the actual controller is taken away, the creditors will swarm and start a lawsuit and trace proceedings to ensure the security of their claims.
What happened to Bao Fan?There is still no answer.
As a soul figure of Huaxing, Bao Fan was under investigation.At a larger level, Bao Fan's investigation may affect investor confidence, and once again sounded the alarm bell in the investment circle, that is, the anti -corruption storm of China Science and Technology Finance continues, and this is also the fact that investors must accept.
