STATE-OWNED Aluminum Corporation of China said on Wednesday (Jul 19) that chairman Liu Jianping has resigned due to a “work adjustment”.

The departure, just two years into Liu’s tenure as chairman, comes days after a unit of the company was reported by Bloomberg to have terminated some aluminium contracts amid a government-led investigation into deals in the market.

Liu’s move is a “normal personnel change”, Nie Zhen, spokesman for the firm’s parent company Chinalco, told Reuters.

He said that it had no connection with the reported suspension of contracts but declined to comment further.

The company, also known as Chalco, is China’s top aluminium producer and is the largest shareholder in Anglo-Australian mining giant Rio Tinto.

It said in a statement to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange that Liu had confirmed he had no disagreement with the board and there were no matters relating to his resignation that needed to be brought to the attention of shareholders.

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During his tenure as chairman, Liu was “dedicated and diligent” and made “outstanding contributions” to the company, it said in a separate statement to the Shanghai Stock Exchange.

Zhu Runzhou, an executive director, will act as chairman of the board of directors and legal representative of the company, the company added.

In late June, Yunnan Aluminium, whose largest shareholder is Chalco, said its chairman, Zhang Zhengji, had resigned due to a change in job role. It was not immediately clear whether the moves are related. REUTERS