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S&P Pharmaceutical under investigation

(Shenzhen Daily)
Updated: 2007-04-16 14:14

S&P Pharmaceutical Industry Co, a manufacturer of medical and health care products, said Friday it is under investigation by the securities regulator.

Shares of the Shanghai-listed company tumbled 2.38 yuan, or the 10 percent daily limit, to 21.42 yuan (US$2.77) after they resumed trading Friday.

The China Securities Regulatory Commission notified the company Thursday that it was being investigated because of an unusual share price movement, said S&P Pharmaceutical, based in the eastern province of Jiangsu, in a statement, without giving further details.

The securities regulator has stepped up its oversight of market excesses on concerns irregularities will dampen sentiments in the country's stock markets.

Shares of S&P Pharmaceutical were suspended from trading starting March 12 after the stock surged 44 percent in the previous week. The shares resumed trading March 27, when S&P Pharmaceutical announced plans to buy cable units worth about 6 billion yuan from Jiangsu Far East Group Co, which owns a 30 percent stake in the company as the biggest shareholder.

The Shanghai Stock Exchange censured S&P Pharmaceutical's chairman Jiang Xipei and Far East Group for deliberately covering up information on the deal.

Shares of S&P Pharmaceutical have jumped more than fourfold this year, making the company the sixth-best performer of the Shanghai Composite Index, which includes all the 883 stocks trading on the Shanghai bourse.