Shanghai outlines progress in SOE reform

Shanghai has shaped over 20 concrete operation schemes on the comprehensive reform of state-owned assets and enterprises, involving the distribution of state-owned assets, industrial integration, classification of enterprises, overall listing, and management of business leaders.

Bai Tinghui, Party secretary and director of the city's State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC), on Thursday outlined the progress Shanghai has made in comprehensive reform.

According to the city's reform implementation plan, Shanghai pledged to make achievements in key areas and key elements in comprehensive SOE reform by 2022, and to complete the overall listing of competitive enterprises or listing of their core business assets.

To date, excluding functional security enterprises, two-thirds of all SOEs have been listed as a whole or with equity carve-out. The total market value of domestic and foreign listed companies controlled by Shanghai local authorities has reached 2.8 trillion yuan (US$393.9 billion), while the market value of state-owned shares is around 1.2 trillion, according to Xiao Wengao, deputy Party secretary of the Shanghai SASAC.

By the end of 2018, Shanghai's mixed-ownership enterprises had accounted for 73.2 percent of the total number of enterprises in the city's SASAC system, contributing 87.1 percent of total assets, 89.5 percent of overall operating income and 93.5 percent of headline net profits.

The city's state asset regulator also issued an action plan to promote the comprehensive reform of state-owned assets and SOEs in pilot areas, aiming to promote the development of state-owned assets and SOEs, and to boost high-quality growth of the state-owned economy.

Meanwhile, four sub-goals were set, focusing on enhancing Party building, promoting mixed-ownership reforms, optimizing distribution of state-owned assets, and improving the regulation of state-owned assets.

In accordance with adjustments of the strategic layout of state-owned assets and SASAC development goals, Shanghai has adjusted the former three enterprise categories of "competitive, functional and public services" into new categories of "market competitive, financial services and functional security". 

The city's SASAC also revealed that there are now 25 market competitive enterprises, six financial services companies and 13 functional security firms registered in the commission's system.