China’s SOEs set for year of innovation reform in 2020, Sasac says

Sector to focus on developing advanced manufacturing industries next year, aiming to establish state-owned enterprises (SOEs) as world-class enterprises

China is expected to release a three-year action plan on SOE reform in the first quarter of next year

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Last month China’s Vice Premier Liu said China will make the state economy ‘stronger, better and bigger’. Photo: AFP

He Huifengin GuangdongandFrank Tangin Beijing

Published: 8:00pm, 26 Dec 2019Updated: 12:55pm, 30 Dec 2019

China’s state-assets watchdog has vowed to push ahead with overhauls to state firms next year, focusing on sustainable and quality growth in the sector.

At meetings in Beijing on Tuesday and Wednesday, the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (Sasac) also said it would ensure strong support for state-owned enterprises (SOEs) to implement national strategies and fend off major economic risks.

“The focus will be on ramping up technological innovation by the enterprises, and making the most of SOEs to encourage innovation and develop the advanced manufacturing sector,” a statement released after the meeting said.

China is expected to release a three-year action plan on SOE reform in the first quarter of next year to transform its biggest SOEs through mixed ownership and partial privatisation.

The focus will be on ramping up technological innovation by the enterprises, and making the most of SOEs to encourage innovation and develop the advanced manufacturing sector,

Sasac

SOEs have been criticised as having little incentive to improve productivity and efficiency and, over the last three decades as the economy boomed, state firms expanded aggressively and reported faster revenue and profit growth than the private sector.