China tightens regulation over investment by state firms

BEIJING - Chinese regulators on Wednesday released revised regulations on investment by central State-owned enterprises (SOEs), introducing a "negative list" approach in the supervision of investment projects.

The State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council said it will release a negative list detailing two categories of investment projects -- those that are off-limits for entry and those that demand special regulation.

For projects that are not on the list, central SOEs may make investment decisions on their own.

There are currently more than 100 state firms directly regulated by the central government.

The new rules also set stricter requirements for state firms' overseas investment, stipulating that such investment should focus on the firms' main business.

In principle, central state firms are not allowed to conduct non-core business investment overseas, according to the regulation, which aims to enhance risk control for overseas assets.

China's central SOEs made total profits of 1.23 trillion yuan (around $179.6 billion) in 2016, up 0.5 percent year-on-year, earlier official data showed.