Debt burden of State-owned enterprises decreases in 2018

Deleveraging helps authorities to clamp down on further increases

State-owned enterprises' debt burden continued to ease in 2018, as SOE reform measures took effect and the authorities stuck to the deleveraging policy to curb debt increases, according to a report from the State Council on Wednesday.

The report showed that the average debt to asset ratio, a key financial gauge to reflect a company's debt risk, declined in central government-owned enterprises, down to 67.7 percent in 2018 from 68.1 percent in 2017.