The former managing director and chief China economist of bourse operator Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX), Ba Shusong, has not appeared in public recently and could not be contacted, according to two sources familiar with the situation.
Mainland media outlets reported that Ba was missing, with speculation that he had been detained by authorities for an investigation.
The South China Morning Post tried to contact Ba on his mainland mobile phone, but the number was out of service, and an email to his Hong Kong University address did not yield a response.
Ba was no longer employed with the bourse operator, an HKEX spokesman said in response to an inquiry. He was most recently a part-time adviser and left the company in late 2025, the spokesman said.
Ba delivered his last public speech at the China Conference 2025, hosted by HKEX in Shanghai on October 22.
The conference agenda, which listed Ba as managing director and chief China economist, said he was to give a speech on Hong Kong’s role as a “superconnector” supporting mainland companies in their global expansion plans and promoting the internationalisation of the yuan.
