SHANGHAI -- Prosecutors in the eastern metropolis of Shanghai said Monday they have approved the arrest of a senior business executive who headed several major companies.

Wang Zongnan is suspected of taking bribes and embezzling public funds when serving as general manager of Shanghai Friendship Group and Lianhua Supermarket, according to the Shanghai People's Procuratorate.

Wang had also been the chairman of Bright Food, one of China's biggest food corporations, and the president of Bailian Group, a major retailing company.