The State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission will consolidate about 20 of its 149 state enterprises under a single asset management corporation, according to a government source.
The 20 or so companies covering various industries from logistics to trade would be wholly owned subsidiaries of the China Chengtong Group, one of Sasac's two asset management corporations, the source said.
China Chengtong is involved in logistics and trade while Sasac's other pilot asset management corporation, the State Development Investment Corporation, looks after assets linked to power, coal and fertiliser.
The source said the formal announcement of the decision would be next month or after the Olympic Games but was unaware which companies would be involved in the plan.
The number of central government-owned enterprises would drop to about 130 from 149 after the consolidation and would continue to contract as the restructuring proceeded.
China Chengtong Group was founded in 2005 as a pilot asset management corporation with 20 billion yuan (HK$22.91 billion) in assets.