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SCIO briefing on reform of SOEs

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Speaker:
Xiao Yaqing, chairman of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council

Chairperson:
Hu Kaihong, spokesperson of the State Council Information Office

Date:
Sept. 28, 2017

Die Welt:

I read in your report that the number of central SOEs has decreased from over 170 to 98 in the past five years. Will the number continue to be fall in the next five years? Is there a target? Since the borrowings by SOEs account for about 60 percent of total corporate debt, is there a target of debt reduction for the next five years? What measures will be taken to meet the target?

Xiao Yaqing:

As to the number of central SOEs, Ms. Huang has already elaborated on this. Unprecedented efforts have been channeled into the restructuring of central SOEs in the past five years delivering obvious effects. As I have mentioned, we will not be taking the reduction in numbers or the size of any expansion as set goals. Instead, we will set the pace of restructuring on the basis of the needs of domestic and international markets, as well as the development trends of certain industries. Therefore, we will focus on enhancing enterprise core competitiveness and management level as well as raising the returns in regard to the preservation and increased value of State-owned assets. We will advance the restructuring process according to the laws governing scientific and market development and the demands of technology innovation.

Your second question is about corporate debt. At the end of 2016, the debt ratio of the central SOEs stood at at 66.7 percent. This was moderate compared with other countries. Over the past five years, the ratio has remained stable, rising slightly by 0.4 percentage point to 66.7 percent in 2016 from 66.3 percent in 2012.

To curb the rise of this ratio, a major approach is to intensify supply-side structural reform and structural adjustment.

Presently, the debt risk of the central SOEs is completely under control, as shown by the statistics I just mentioned. The enterprises are operating well. This means the risk has been reduced. So far this year, the central SOEs have maintained the positive growth momentum seen in the fourth quarter of last year, while a particularly rapid growth rate is appearing in the major sectors and among the large SOEs.