China Telecom chairman under investigation: Anti-graft agency

The chairman of China Telecom Corp Ltd is being investigated for alleged disciplinary violation, the ruling Communist Party's anti-corruption watchdog said on Sunday.

The official, Chang Xiaobing, is "suspected of serious violation of discipline", the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection said in a statement on its website. It did not provide further details.

Local Chinese media outlets on Sunday reported that China Telecom's Chang had gone missing.

Chinese President Xi Jinping's ongoing corruption investigations have already included leading politicians, bosses of state enterprises and senior bankers. The party watchdog cracked down on more than 70 senior officials at state firms in 2014.

Chang was chairman of telecoms group China Unicom, before becoming China Telecom chairman.

Born in 1957, Chang was Party chief at China Unicom before assuming his post at China Telecom in August this year, China's official Xinhua news agency said on Sunday.

China Unicom and China Telecom are two of China's top three telecom service providers. The two companies did not respond to Reuters' telephone calls requesting comment.

Earlier this month, Fosun International Chairman Guo Guangchang was reported to have gone missing. Fosun said he was helping police with an investigation. He reappeared at a meeting in Shanghai several days later.

His alleged disappearance prompted speculation the firm was being drawn into Beijing's corruption crackdown.

At the Shanghai meeting, Guo did not say where he had been, or make any reference to a Fosun statement that said he had been assisting the Chinese authorities in an investigation.

(Reporting By Winni Zhou and Norihiko Shirouzu; Editing by Jacqueline Wong and Jane Merriman)