PURPOSE: To provide a new compound useful as a raw material for pharmaceuti cal material, agricultural chemical material, optical recording material, liquid crystal material, etc.

CONSTITUTION: The compound of formula I (R1 and R2 are alkyl; A is bivalent hydrocarbon group; the group containing A is cycloacetal having 5 to 7-membered ring), e.g. (S)-2-{2-[4-t-butyloxymethyl)phenyl]ethyl}-1,3-dioxane. The compound of formula I can be produced by the reducing rearrangement reaction of an optically active a-aromatic group-substituted sulfonic acid ester derivative of formula II (R3 is alkyl or aryl) with a metal hydride reagent (e.g. diisobutylaluminum hydride) under acidic condition with Lewis acid at ≤0°C Since the compound has an alkoxymethyl group on the aromatic ring, other group such as aldehyde group can easily be introduced into the compound by the use of the alkoxymethyl group.