State assets watchdog pledges self reform, innovation

Supervision of China's state-owned enterprises (SOES) will undergo reform next year, according to a pledge by the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC) made on Monday.

In a meeting attended by the leaders of centrally administered SOEs and local regulators, the SASAC said its work in 2015 will center on quality and efficient growth to actively adapt to the country's economic "new normal".

Although China's SOEs are deemed as the backbone of the economy, the public has long complained about SOE monopolies in several sectors, low efficiency and corruption.

SASAC head Zhang Yi said one of the major tasks next year is to deal with inefficient and financially distressed companies, to either close them or force them into acquisitions and mergers.

Meanwhile, the SASAC will push ahead with reforms such as developing mixed ownership and continue the fight on corruption.

On Monday, Zhang disclosed that the combined profits of the SOEs under the SASAC supervision totalled 1.95 trillion yuan (318.6 billion U.S. dollars), up 5.2 percent year on year.