IN BRIEF (Page 15)

SOE profits up noticeably

China's centrally run State-owned enterprises (SOE) showed a 14.6-percent increase in profits year-on-year, in the first half of the year, the SOE watchdog has said.

Combined profits of 120 central SOEs totaled 457.17 billion yuan ($70.88 billion) for the period, the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC) reported, on its website.