(Reuters) – AstraZeneca shares recorded their biggest one-day drop since March 2020 on Tuesday following a report that dozens of senior executives at its China unit could be implicated in the largest insurance fraud case in the country’s pharma sector in years.
The investigation by Chinese authorities has now expanded to include the public security bureau, supervisory commission and other relevant bodies, a report by financial media company Yicai said, citing an insider.
An AstraZeneca spokesperson declined to comment on the Yicai report.
The FTSE 100 component fell as much as 8.4% to hit a seven-month low of 10,118 pence and was the second-biggest percentage loser on the blue-chip index.
AstraZeneca, which has invested heavily in China, said last week that its China president Leon Wang was under investigation and that the drugmaker would cooperate with the authorities.
Wang, who grew up in China and has been with AstraZeneca for more than a decade, is a high-profile executive who has often been quoted by China’s business press and holds leadership positions in domestic business organisations.
(Reporting by Aby Jose Koilparambil in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D’Silva)
