Chinese customers at the offices of the Ping An Insurance company in Shanghai . PHOTO: AFP
Authorities held Xue Rongnian, who headed Ping An Securities from 2008 to 2011, on suspicion of insider trading in connection to two cement businesses, business magazine Caixin reported.
Police in Anhui province took him into custody around November 20, the magazine said.
In 2013, China’s securities regulator disciplined Xue, following allegations that a company Ping An helped take public during his tenure had falsified its earnings, Caixin said.
The news comes as China tightens the screws on officials and businessmen in the financial sector after a market rout earlier this year wiped out trillions of dollars in market capitalisation, sending shockwaves across the globe.
Last April, reports said Chinese authorities were investigating the former head of China’s central bank, Dai Xianglong, whose family members amassed billions of dollars through the purchase of shares in Ping An Securities’ parent company.
The deal was detailed in a New York Times expose that also revealed that a company controlled in part by relatives of former prime minister Wen Jiabao benefited from buying Ping An shares.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 13th, 2015.
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