Unlock Digest Editor for free
FT Editor Roula Khalaf picks her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.
A senior Nomura banker has been allowed to leave mainland China after being barred from leaving the country last year amid an ongoing investigation into tech firm Bao Fan.
Charles Vuong Trung Hoa, The chairman of China investment banking at Nomura International has returned to Hong Kong, where he previously worked, three people with knowledge of the matter said.
One of those people, a banker who met Wang recently, said he was now spending time back in the territory, adding: “I think he’s doing pretty well.” It’s unclear exactly when the ban was lifted, but two of the people said it was within the past few months. The FT first reported on his ban in September.
The imposition of an exit ban on a senior figure like Wang sent chills through Hong Kong’s financial community last year, at a time when confidence in China’s business environment was already low. Banks and other multinationals depend on their executives being able to travel to and from the mainland.
Wang did not immediately respond to a LinkedIn message seeking comment. Nomura declined to comment. China’s Foreign Ministry did not immediately comment.
The US State Department advises people to reconsider travel to China “due to arbitrary enforcement of local laws, including exit bans.”
FT of reported in September that Wang was banned from leaving mainland China after visiting there. He was allowed to travel within mainland China while the exit ban was in effect and was not detained.
In a social media post by Wang on September 13 seen by the FT, the banker said he was on a trip to Qinghai province in western China.
News of Wang’s exit ban comes months after Bao, founder of investment group China Renaissance and a former Morgan Stanley and Credit Suisse banker, went missing in February 2023. China Renaissance said later that month that Bao was “cooperating in the investigation” with Chinese authorities.
Two people familiar with the matter said last year that Wang’s travel ban was related to his time at state-owned ICBC, where he worked alongside Cong Lin, a former senior executive at China Renaissance. In 2022, China’s securities regulator summoned Cong for “supervision discussions” and he was later said to have been detained.
Bao and Cong could not be reached for comment.
According to his LinkedIn page, Wang joined Nomura in 2018, having previously worked at ICBC International and Deutsche Bank. He moved to Hong Kong in 1996 after working on Wall Street.
China has a history of detaining many businessmen and high-ranking officials for unclear reasons.
