China unveiled the latest list of its top 100 listed companies based on their business performances on May 9. Judging from the list, centrally-owned enterprises evidently exerted themselves as the backbone. 21 listed centrally-owned enterprises including Sinopec, Bao Steel and Huaneng, Sinoair and COSCO covered 942.6 billion yuan (US$117.825 billion) of capital and their business performances accounted for 68% of all the top 100 listed companies', indicating their important status.

The listed company performance assessment task team consists of experts from China United Financial Consultants Co. Ltd, China United Assets Appraisal Co. Ltd and the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council.

The team has made an assessment and ranking of the 2005 yearly general performances of 1,339 listed companies in Shanghai and Shenzhen stock markets that had released their annual reports by April 30, 2006.

The assessment result shows that up through the end of 2005, 1,339 listed companies in Shanghai and Shenzhen A-share markets possessed 4.7376 trillion RMB of assets, and their yearly revenue of major businesses equaled 21.8% of China's GDP that year. The top 100 listed companies made up less than one thirteenth of all listed companies in China, but their net profits constituted over 70% of the total those 1,300-odd enterprises.

Among the top 100 companies, more than a half are from resource-oriented industries, which implies that listed companies' performances are closely related to industry prosperity, and they are gradually becoming the indicator of China's industry growth status.

According to insiders, the assessment result demonstrates that the stock price fluctuation of listed Chinese corporations have a further strengthened relation with their performances. Due to the nation's macro controls and the continuous reform in the securities market, the "performance market" is taking shape and seeing a steady growth.

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