(Yicai Global) Dec. 1 -- Advanced materials maker Darbond Technology may be the latest Chinese company involved in an investigation by the government's corruption watchdog into executives of the firm that manages China's largest state-owned chip investment fund.

Xie Haihua, Darbond’s chairman and legal representative, cannot carry out his duties until he finishes helping the watchdog with its investigation, the Yantai-based firm said on Nov. 29.

The probe may be related to the anti-graft storm around the National Integrated Circuit Industry Investment Fund, also known as the “Big Fund,” which is the largest shareholder of Star Market-listed Darbond.

Du Yang, former director of Big Fund manager Sino IC Capital, Yang Zhengfan, deputy general manager of the No. 3 investment division, and Liu Yang, ex-general manager of the No. 2 investment division, were put under investigation for suspected severe violations of party discipline and laws, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection said in August. Du and Yang were external directors of Darbond.

Darbond debuted on Shanghai’s Nasdaq-like Star Market on Sept. 23. Its shares [SHA: 688035] fell 1.6 percent today to CNY60.71 (USD8.57), after plunging over 15 percent yesterday.

After Darbond's listing, the Big Fund reduced its stake to 18.7 percent from nearly 25 percent, remaining the company's largest shareholder.

Five firms, including Yuanhe Puhua Suzhou Investment Management, became Darbond shareholders last year. The Big Fund owns more than 21 percent of Yuanhe Puhua. Chen Datong, a managing partner at Yuanhe Puhua, was taken away for investigation in mid-August, Caixin reported on Aug. 30, citing sources. But the government has not confirmed that yet.

China has intensified efforts to investigate corruption in the its semiconductor industry, including the Big Fund, since July. Six executives related to the fund have been probed since then. Lu Jun, former Big Fund chief and ex-deputy director of the management division of China Development Bank's CDB Development Fund, and Ding Wenwu, ex-general manager at the Big Fund, were among them.

Sino IC Capital was the sole manager of the Big Fund's first phase, which was set up in September 2014 with assets of CNY138.7 billion (USD19.6 billion), and one of the managers of its second phase which launched in October 2019 with CNY204.2 billion.

Editors: Liao Shumin, Futura Costaglione