Cut State share in SOEs

Fifteen years ago, I told the IMF-World Bank annual meeting that China had to deepen the reform of State-owned enterprises by reducing its State share in their stocks from 100 percent to less than 30 percent. Much progress was made in the five years that followed: most of the small and medium-sized SOEs were reorganized and many SOEs were listed and became very profitable.

Unfortunately, this process is not yet complete. Over the past 10 years, the State has had about 70 percent share in each of the publicly listed SOEs, which enjoy monopolistic privileges in "strategic sectors" such as banking, telecommunications, energy and utilities. Despite their gargantuan size and appetite, (many of them have featured on the Fortune 500 list), they are not seen as globally competitive and are frequently criticized for the privileges they enjoy and the resultant discrimination against private enterprises.

In my article, "Xi's Challenge: Strengthening Property Rights", published in The Wall Street Journal on Nov 22, I suggested that the Chinese government transfer 15 percent of its shares in the listed SOEs to the national pension fund, and sell some to private investors, bringing down its stake to less than 30 percent. (Xi Jinping is the leader of the ruling party).