China’s biggest aluminium producer underwent a major leadership shakeup last week after its chairman resigned amid an investigation into the company’s contractual deals.
Liu Jianping resigned as chairman of Aluminium Corporation of China (Chalco) on Wednesday, saying that the move is a “work adjustment” for the executive.
A spokesman for Chalco’s parent company Chinalco said that Liu’s resignation is simply a “normal personnel change” and had nothing to do with the cancellation of several contracts due to a state-led investigation.
In a filing to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, the firm said that Liu had no differences of opinion with Chalco’s board and that there was nothing related to his departure that merited the attention of stockholders.
Separately the company told the Shanghai Stock Exchange that Liu was “dedicated and diligent” and gave “outstanding contributions” to Chalco in his time there.
Chalco said that executive director Zhu Runzhou will step in as chair and the company’s legal representative.
Chalco is Rio Tinto’s biggest shareholder. It’s also Yunnan Aluminium Co Ltd’s largest shareholder, where only last month the chairman there resigned for similar stated reasons. It’s unclear whether the two departures had any relation.