By Rong Xiandong (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2007-08-13 15:35

Since April, China has been conducting an across-the-board overhaul of its overseas State-owned assets, involving more than 1,000 central State-owned enterprises (SOEs) and their businesses abroad. The results are expected to be released by the end of August, according to Nanfang Daily.

In a move to step up supervision of overseas State assets, government departments, including the Ministry of Finance, the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, the Ministry of Commerce and the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, have begun to examine property rights registration of State-owned assets abroad.

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The inspection includes central SOEs; overseas units of government departments, agencies directly under the central government, public institutions and national associations; and overseas operations of bank head offices, insurance company head offices, and national non-banking financial institutions.

An official from the State-owned assets watchdog said security of State assets in the overseas market is the focus of the inspection.

Many State assets have been lost due to the government's failure to have a good command of the country's State-owned assets abroad and unrestrained power of the overseas businesses' officials, according to Chen Changzhi, vice minister of the Ministry of Supervision.

Chen proposed to draft laws on overseas direct investments and regulations on the management of Chinese firms operating overseas to beef up supervision of State-owned assets in these businesses.

Li Shuguang, a member of the team responsible for drafting laws on State-owned assets, said the government should set up a special agency to manage overseas State assets.