China Life's ex-chairman arrested

Wang Bin, the former party chief and chairman of China Life Insurance (2628), has been arrested on suspicion of taking bribes and concealing overseas savings.

Shares of China's largest life insurer were not affected, rising 0.53 percent to HK$11.4 yesterday.

On September 1, China's anti-graft watchdog Central Commission for Discipline Inspection announced that Wang was expelled from the party and dismissed from public office for bribery and corruption after the investigation started in January.

Wang was also found to have abused his power to seek benefit for others and to indulge his relatives in violating the law, the CCDI said.

Wang was involved in frequent shell stock transactions in Hong Kong over a long period of time, resulting in losses of around 30 billion yuan (HK$33.99 billion) for China Taiping Insurance (0966), Chinese media reported. The former chairman worked in the banking industry for more than 20 years, taking senior roles in financial institutions.