CITIC Securities, whose shares were walloped in morning trading yesterday by news that some of its senior managers were under police investigation as part of a probe into possible market manipulation, ended the day up 6.73 percent in Shanghai trading.

    CITIC Securities said late Tuesday that three company officials, including the firm’s general manager, Cheng Boming, are being investigated for alleged insider trading and leaking information.

    Cheng is one of the most senior financial executives known to have been caught up in the government’s market manipulation probes so far.

    He forms part of the seven-member executive committee overseeing Hong Kong and Shanghai-listed CITIC Securities, which is China’s largest broker by market capitalization.

    Domestic media have previously reported that four senior CITIC Securities executives confessed to insider dealing in August.

    CITIC Securities has spent the past three years trying to boost its overseas presence and expand into asset management and complex derivatives.

    In 2012, it paid US$1.3 billion for the Asia-focused brokerage CLSA and has also established brokerage units in several overseas markets including the United States.

    The brokerage booked a net profit of 11.3 billion yuan (US$1.77 billion) in 2014 with revenues of 39.5 billion.

    (SD-Agencies)