South Africa's Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) has launched an investigation into the Public Investment Corporation (PIC), citing concerns over governance, leadership stability and transparency at the State-owned asset manager.

In a statement late on Tuesday, the regulator said it had become "increasingly concerned" by recent developments at the PIC, including issues related to governance, leadership stability, transparency and the potential impact on confidence in one of Africa's largest asset managers.

On Monday, the PIC's board of directors placed Chief Executive Patrick Dlamini on precautionary suspension after a whistleblower complaint against him. It gave no further details of the allegations and said the suspension did not constitute a finding and was not a pronouncement of any wrongdoing. Dlamini could not be reached for comment.

The regulator said these recent events had raised "serious questions" about whether the PIC was consistently upholding standards of governance, integrity, accountability and conduct expected of such an institution.

The PIC manages more than 3-trillion rand ($183-billion) in assets and is the biggest investor on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange.

In a separate statement on Wednesday, the PIC board welcomed the investigation and said it had furnished the regulator with the information and documentation it requested on the whistleblower report and associated governance process.

"The board remains fully committed to cooperating with all regulators and ensuring that governance matters are addressed through independent, credible and transparent processes," it said.

The FSCA said its investigation relates to these developments and did not provide the expected duration of the investigation.