China's centrally administered state firms report strong profit growth

BEIJING - China's centrally administered State-owned enterprises (SOEs) reported double-digit growth in business revenue and profit in the first 11 months, as the government moves steadily to reform the sector, according to the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC) Friday.

During January-November period, the centrally administered SOEs made a total of 1.33 trillion yuan ($201.2 billion) in profit, up 17.2 percent year-on-year, marking the fastest growth in nearly five years, SASAC said at a press conference.

Total revenue of the central SOEs was up 14.3 percent to 23.6 trillion yuan in the 11-month period.

"China's SOEs development is steadily improving, with better quality and efficiency," said Wang Wenbin, deputy head of SASAC.

The data also showed China's central SOEs reduced 59.5 million tons of iron and steel overcapacity and 25.23 million tons of excessive coal capacity in the first 10 months.

China currently has 98 central SOEs, down from 117 five years ago as the government has been restructuring central SOEs to improve their efficiency and competitiveness.

To invigorate its torpid SOEs, China has launched a series of reforms, including changing their share-holding structure, spinning off non-core assets and encouraging innovation.

A State Council meeting Wednesday said that China would press ahead with reforms to provide a greater driving force for high-quality economic development with state capital.

The meeting decided that the management system of State-owned assets would be improved, and a list of powers and obligations on state assets supervision and management will be formulated to enable precise supervision by category.

The reforms include solid steps taken to cut outdated excess capacity, and that "zombie enterprises" are handled in a timely fashion. Deleveraging SOEs and the reduction of corporate debt will be prioritized to keep risks under control, according to the State Council.