Executive exits get buried in corporate jargon

Chinese companies struggling with how to disclose the departure of top executives amid a nationwide crackdown on corruption are adopting the favored euphemism of corporations in the United States: personal reasons.

On Saturday, China Minsheng Banking Corp cited "personal reasons" for the resignation of its president as media reported he was under investigation by authorities. A month earlier, developer Kaisa Group Holdings Ltd said its chairman was quitting for "health reasons", triggering a default on one of its loans. The company is being probed for links to a former Shenzhen security chief under investigation for alleged graft, two people familiar with the matter said.

China is waging the broadest crackdown on corruption in decades, leaving publicly traded firms scrambling for precedents in what and how they should disclose. More than 70 top executives at State-owned enterprises were busted last year, including some listed in Hong Kong, according to the People's Daily.