SINGAPORE/SHANGHAI, Dec 19 (Reuters) - Chinese authorities are investigating an executive of Dongfeng Motor Group Co , which has a joint venture with Nissan Motor Co , for alleged disciplinary violations, Dongfeng said on Friday.
Ren Yong, a supervisor at state-owned Dongfeng Motor and vice president of the joint venture between Dongfeng and Nissan, will be removed from his administrative roles and duties pending the result of the probe into "suspected serious disciplinary violations", the Chinese automaker said in a filing to the Hong Kong stock exchange.
The statement did not give further details about the alleged violations.
Ren did not reply to an email seeking comment, while a Nissan spokesman could not immediately be reached for comment.
The investigation comes at a time when China is intensifying an anti-corruption drive, with President Xi Jinping vowing to clean up the government and the corporate sector.
It also complicates Nissan's efforts to revive sales in the country. The Japanese carmaker posted its fifth consecutive monthly sales declines in China in November and has trimmed its Chinese sales forecast for this year.
In September, Chinese prosecutors launched a criminal bribery investigation into a former senior executive at FAW Group Corp, a Chinese partner of Volkswagen AG and Toyota Motor Corp.
Dongfeng's announcement came after the Hong Kong market closed. Its shares ended 0.55 percent higher, lagging a 1.25 percent rise in the Hang Seng Index. (Reporting by Lee Chyen Yee in Singapore and Samuel Shen in Shanghai; Additional reporting by Bengaluru newsroom; Editing by Pravin Char)