Insider trading suspected at Bank of Beijing

The Bank of Beijing (BOB) is under inspection by China's securities regulators after a vice president bought shares in the bank three days before a major deal was announced. Deng Ke, spokesman for the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), told a press conference on Friday that the CSRC's Beijing branch and the Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE) were inspecting the bank. "Regulatory measures will be taken if the inspection finds any violations," Deng said. The BOB said in a statement filed with the SSE Tuesday that the bank's vice president Zhao Rui'an had increased his holding in the bank by 30,000 shares on Monday, up from his previous holding of 60,000 shares, at the price of 7.38 yuan per share. On Thursday,the bank announced an agreement with smartphone manufacturer Beijing Xiaomi Technology Co., on mobile payments andother products. The bank's shares rose by the daily limit of 10 percent on Wednesday and another 2.77 percent on Thursday. The commission urged the bank to make a clarifying statement as the media reports questioned whether Zhao's was insider trading, due to the inauspicious timing. On Friday, BOB said that the purchase was in line with their regulations and was not insider trading. "Zhao Rui'an had not been involved in the bank's cooperation with Xiaomi before he bought the shares," the statement said.