CNPC chief Jiang Jiemin to take top job at Sasac in state shuffle

Jiang Jiemin, the head of the country's biggest oil and gas producer, has been picked to lead a ministry-level agency that oversees about 70 trillion yuan (HK$87 trillion) of non-financial state assets.

Jiang, the chairman of China National Petroleum Corp, replaces Wang Yong as head of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, NetEase reported yesterday.

Wang was promoted to become a state councillor.

Sasac and CNPC spokesmen were unable to confirm the report last night.

PetroChina, CNPC's listed unit, announced Jiang had resigned as the chairman and director of the company.

Jiang's appointment as chief of the state-asset watchdog came as Premier Li Keqiang pledged to streamline government bodies and reduce administrative interventions to give the market a greater role in the economy.

Sasac controls state assets in many sectors of strategic importance to the economy, such as telecommunications, petroleum and mining. State firms have been heavily criticised for enjoying monopolies at the expense of private businesses.