Country to dispense with half of SOEs
20 December 2006
A special asset management company will be set up to coordinate the sale and merger of around half of the national-level state-owned enterprises remaining in China, the South China Morning Post reported. Li Rongrong, chairman of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission also said that the company would facilitate the dividend payments by these SOEs to the state. Li explained that market forces would be behind a wholesale reform of the SOEs under his control with the number of enterprises likely to fall from 161 to between 80 and 100 by 2010. "Our plan is to develop between 30 and 50 internationally competitive conglomerates with intellectual property and famous brand names," he said.