China SOE reform back on track amid concerns
- By Zhang Lulu
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E-mail China.org.cn, March 15, 2015
"Easier said than done"
Though a national reform plan is yet to be announced, major reform measures have been indicated in various documents, which include mixed-ownership reform, reform of corporate management structures, separating business from politics and so on.
Mixed ownership, which means inviting private investment into SOEs, is one of the most talked about reforms and is nothing new for the state sector. Statistics show that some 45 percent of China's SOEs are already "of mixed ownership," but 92 percent of all the SOEs hold more than 50 percent of their own stock, meaning that most of the SOEs have a controlling stake.
Since China pledged to overhaul its SOEs in 2013, the private sector has been concerned about whether their stake -- if they invest -- would be secure and whether they could take a controlling stake.
Xu Guoping, chief of the Jiangsu SASAC, thinks that the private and even foreign firms can take a controlling stake, as long as it is within the "competitive industry."
But in Bai Liqun's opinion, the crux of the problem lies not in the ownership of stock, but in the nature of China's economic system and related laws.
"Only when the private sector is seen as the main body of China's real economy and related laws are formulated and enforced can there be a way out for the reform of the SOEs." said Bai.
Even if the private sector had a controlling stake, they might not have a major say in company-related decisions if they were not in the same position as their state counterparts, Bai said. " SOE reform is easier said than done."
Apart from the mixed ownership, Xu Guoping said that the reform would be "a systematic project" and hence a "coordinated effort" is required to reform the corporate governance structure, the mixed ownership system, the selection of company chiefs and so on. He said that it remains to be seen whether reform can take place in these areas when the national SOE reform plan is released.
Previous reports said that an overarching national reform plan is to be announced soon after the legislative meeting, which concludes on March 15.
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