(Yicai) Nov. 23 -- YTO Express announced that its vice president is under investigation by the China Securities Regulatory Commission for short-swing trading of the Chinese delivery giant's shares.

Zhang Yizhong is under investigation for short-swing trading as it was found that Zhang traded the company's shares in the year ended June 15 through his son's securities account, the Shanghai-based courier announced yesterday.

Zhang's son Zhang Shijie traded shares of YTO through centralized bidding between June 15 last year and June 15 this year, the company said in August, adding that Zhang Shijie traded 563,000 YTO shares, earning CNY244,800 (USD34,270).

Company insiders are not allowed to purchase and sell shares if both transactions occur within a certain period, according to relevant rules and regulations.

The probe targets the VP alone and will not cause significant impacts on YTO's management and operations, the company noted.

YTO [SHA: 600233] was trading down 0.3 percent at CNY13.33 (USD1.87) as of lunch break in Shanghai today. The stock has fallen nearly 33 percent so far this year.

YTO reported a net profit of CNY798 million (USD111.7 million) in the third quarter of the year, down 20 percent from a year earlier, according to the firm's latest earnings report. Revenue remained unchanged at CNY13.8 billion (USD1.9 billion) in the period.

Editors: Shi Yi, Futura Costaglione