ABC vice-president under investigation

The Agricultural Bank of China Ltd, China's third largest bank by market value, confirmed on Wednesday evening that one of its vice-presidents is being investigated.

In a statement to the Shanghai and Hong Kong stock exchanges, it said Yang Kun, who was responsible for the bank's corporate and consumer banking, the international department and real estate lending, is currently “assisting relevant authorities with certain investigations”.

"As at the date of this announcement, the bank's business, operations and financial status have not been affected, according to information the board has," it said.

The lender said it will follow the development of this event and will make further announcements when appropriate.

Chinese Caixin magazine reported on Wednesday that Yang had been taken away to assist in an investigation by the Communist Party's disciplinary body, namely the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, which probes allegations of corruption and other crimes before transferring the cases to judicial authorities.

Citing anonymous sources, the magazine said Yang was suspected of involvement in a gambling case related to a Beijing real estate company and prohibited from leaving the country.

The price of the bank's Shanghai-listed share declined by 0.37 percent on Wednesday, while its Hong Kong-listed stock closed down 4 percent on the same day.

The Shanghai-listed stock went down by 1.49 percent on Thursday as of 11:30 am.

In the first quarter, ABC reported a net profit of 43.45 billion yuan, up by 27.55 percent year-on-year.

The project will be located in the Nanmofang area in eastern Beijing's Chaoyang district.

Covering an area of 104 square meters, the "town" will be a block of automotive business, including car decorations, modification and design.

A total of 30 leading auto decoration companies, including ABT and MTM have committed to the project at present.