Center

Nation to trim off at least 14 central enterprises a year before 2010

(chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2007-06-26 15:52

The State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration of State Council (SASAC) wants at least 14 central enterprises to integrate with others annually by 2010. But so far, only two have done so this year, according to Beijing Business Today.

Related readings:  Exchange qualified to trade property rights of central SOEs  Fiscal budget system effective for central SOEs  Central government-supervised firms see revenue jump  Number of central enterprises to reduce

SASAC initiated the move to integrate central enterprises in December 2003, aiming to concentrate State-owned companies in fields closely related to national security and critical industries. SASAC plans to reduce the number of existing central enterprises to between 80 and 100 by 2010.

By the end of 2006, the central government reduced the number of central enterprises to 159 from 196. However, the pace seems to have slowed down this year. Yesterday, SASAC approved Sinochem Corp'sacquisitionof China National Seed Group Corp, which reduced the number of central enterprises to 157, only two less than last year's figure.

In order to achieve SASAC's goal, at least 14 central enterprises need be merged annually before the end of 2010.