• Will CBN's entrance into the game affect China Unicom and other big telco players?

Will CBN's entrance into the game affect China Unicom and other big telco players? (Photo : Reuters)

As part of the Chinese Communist Party's effort to reduce corruption in the region, the country's premier anti-graft agency announced that it is launching a major investigation to the chairman of China Telecom Corporation.

The Chinese Central Commission for Discipline Inspection suspects China Telecom chairman Chang Xiaobing of severe disciplinary violations and suspicion of various corruption charges.

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Chang was appointed as chairman and chief executive of China Telecom, the third largest wireless network provider in the country, in September. He moved to China Telecom from Hong Kong-based China Unicom as part of a leadership reshuffle which coincided with plans of integrating new reforms to the sector majorly owned by the government.

Chang is the latest high-profile executive to be embroiled in the ongoing anti-corruption drive of the Chinese Communist Party. As of this writing, at least 70 senior state officials are being investigated since 2014.

The list includes former chairman of China National Petroleum Corporation Jian Jiemen. He was sentenced to a 16-year jail term in October after being found guilty of graft charges.

Former China FAW Group chairman Xu Jianyi was also expelled from China's Communist Party in August after being found guilty of accepting bribes and embezzlement practices.

Former president of financial media group 21st Century Shen Hao was recently sentenced to four years in jail for blackmail and extortion, according to BBC.

The Chinese Communist Party's anti-graft and corruption crackdown have covered the military, the oil industry and the finance industry including its regulators, according to Bloomberg.