Yesterday the shares in Singapore-listed COSCO Corp declined in a major volume. This was due to the accounting irregularities at its main part, the state-owned China COSCO Group. The pending orders from a Norwegian customer were also a reason for the decline.

The shares of COSCO fell 14 cents, or 6.9 per cent, to S$1.89 each, under-performing the 1.8-percent fall in the Straits Times Index. There was a trading of about 42.7 million shares which had made COSCO the fifth most actively traded counter.

Yesterday the China COSCO Group has said that during a national audit it was found that improper accounting procedures at the shipping giant from the year 2001 to 2009.

However it added that some issues were cleared and but yet it has not anticipated any material impact on its earlier earnings.

On Friday China's National Audit Office said that accounting irregularities were revealed in a nationwide audit of some state-owned enterprises. The shipping group's audit has found it under-reported revenue, cost and provisions for asset destruction, and low paid taxes.