Majority of China's listed companies upbeat about 2018 performance: report

BEIJING - China's listed companies are happy with their performance this year, with over 64 percent expecting positive or augmented financial results, the China Securities Journal reported Wednesday.

As of Tuesday, 1,230 companies listed on the country's A-share market have released annual profitability estimates, with 45.7 percent of them expecting profit growth, according to the report.

Some 170 companies, or 13.8 percent of the total, expect net profits growth of at least 100 percent, while another 65 loss-making firms forecast turnarounds.

The newspaper attributed the performance improvement to factors including industry-wide revivals. Cyclical industries such as chemical and steel are among the top gainers of this trend.

By the end of October, China had the world's fourth largest number of listed firms, 3,573, which total market capitalization of 44.65 trillion yuan (about $6.5 trillion), the second largest in the world, official data showed.