SOEs see economic value added rise in 2011

Central State-owned enterprises had 406 billion yuan ($63.5 billion) in economic value added in 2011, up 4.4 percent from a year earlier, the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission said on Wednesday.

The commission released business results for 118 central SOEs it supervises, saying most SOEs have met their business performance targets for 2011 and have seen stable increases in their operating profits.

Among the 118 central SOEs, 46 were rated as being A-class enterprises, accounting for 38.98 percent of the total number. A-class corporations mostly do business in the military, commerce, electricity, transport, architecture, petroleum, coal, building materials and telecommunications industries, the commission said.

The A-class companies include China Mobile Ltd, China National Offshore Oil Corp Ltd, China National Petroleum Corp, Shenhua Group Corp Ltd, China Poly Group Corp and China South Industries Group Corp.

Meanwhile, 55 of the SOEs were deemed B-class, 13 C-class, and the remaining four D-class.

The SASAC said central SOEs' exploration of markets and management improvements gave them much momentum this past year.

To ensure SOEs' sustainable development, the commission said the companies' performances should be gauged according to their technological innovations, achievements of national strategic goals and main fields of business.

Businesses that made great technological progress were given a higher grading.

According to recent data, 42 of the 118 central SOEs are now among the Fortune Global 500 companies. That's up from 10 in 2005, a change brought about by revenue increases, technological innovations and strategic transfers.

Earlier this year, the SASAC asked SOEs to respond to the global economic slowdown by speeding up their "strategic transformation" and technological improvements.

For the first six months of this year, central SOEs generated 387 billion yuan in total profits, a decline of 16.4 percent year-on-year, according to recent data released by the commission.

Wang Yong, chairman at the commission, said the rising costs of energy, raw materials, and credit, along with foreign investors' sagging confidence and resources, will make 2012 a tough year for China's SOEs.