(Yicai Global) Sept. 2 -- The chairman of TCL Technology has been forced to issue an apology on WeChat today after a trader mistakenly sold five million of his shares in the Chinese electronics giant yesterday in violation of the stock exchange’s rules for major shareholders.

A trader entrusted to manage Li Dongsheng’s stocks mistakenly sold five million shares at 1:03 p.m. by entering the wrong stock ticker, the Huizhou, Guangdong province-based firm said yesterday. The mistake was immediately noticed and the shares were bought back at 2:48 p.m. the same day, it added.

The proceeds of CNY300,000 (USD43,953) from the short-term sale will all be handed over to the company and all expenses incurred will be borne by Li, TCL added.

Li, who is TCL’s biggest shareholder with an 8.56 percent stake and 1.15 billion shares, has withdrawn account management rights from the trader and will manage his account himself in future to avoid similar mistakes, he said.

The short-term sale of shares by major shareholders violates stock exchange rules. However, the transaction did not involve any insider information nor was it in order to seek benefits, the company said.

TCL Technology [SHE:000100] closed up 5.59 percent today at CNY7.56 (USD1.10).

Editor: Kim Taylor