(Yicai Global) Jan. 23 -- The chairman of a major state-owned chemical firm Hubei Yihua Group is under investigation for serious violations of discipline, a common alias for corruption, although the details of his misconduct remain unknown.

Jiang Yuanhua has served as chairman of Yihua since 2001. Its core listed unit, Hubei Yihua Chemical Industry Co., has incurred huge losses over the last two years, blowing CNY1.25 billion (USD195 million) in 2016 and CNY1.23 billion in the first three quarters of  last year.

Jiang is the second top executive of a state-owned company in Hubei to be investigated for corruption this year. The local government said on Jan. 4 that Li Hongyun, chairman of Hubei United Investment Group., was also being probed. His firm was founded in 2008 and is a major company in the local infrastructure investment and city development sectors.

Regulators are mulling transferring the group's stakes in Yihua Chemical Industry and another listed division, Hubei Shuanghuan Science and Technology Stock Co., to another company, according to data released by the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission. It is unknown whether this relates to Jiang's violations.