TOPIC

State-owned enterprises

The first C919 aircraft of China Southern Airlines arrives at Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport in Guangdong province on August 29. The Chinese jet is designed to compete with Boeing’s 737 and Airbus’ A320 planes. Photo: Xinhua

Opinion | China can be a force in global aviation if Comac rises to challenges

Boeing’s and Airbus’ issues give the Chinese planemaker an opening, but geopolitics may affect certification in the US and Europe.

10 Nov 2024 - 9:30AMvideocam

Economist urges China to further elevate private sector as draft law disappoints

16 Oct 2024 - 8:02PMvideocam

My Take | Unusual draft law signals China’s resolve to protect private economy

15 Oct 2024 - 7:00AM

Health product chain to shut all 19 Hong Kong outlets as popcorn firm to close

CR Care closing stores due to ‘external uncertainties and various operational challenges’; Garrett Popcorn Shops to end 13-year run.

9 Oct 2024 - 12:04AM

CRCare will shut all of its stores in Hong Kong on November 8. Photo: Jelly Tse

China industrial profit growth slows, underscoring urgent need for policy pivot

A double-digit percentage drop last month pulled down China’s industrial profit growth to just 0.5 per cent in the first eight months of the year.

2 Oct 2024 - 9:05AMvideocam

Banks may become collateral damage of China’s policy bazooka

Banks’ net interest margins may be reduced by a fifth of a percentage point, according to an estimate by S&P Global Ratings.

25 Sep 2024 - 6:52PMvideocam

Will new policy encourage Chinese banks to invest in struggling start-ups?

Beijing’s encouragement for banks to boost investment in unlisted companies is a big move in the effort to support start-ups, analysts say.

25 Sep 2024 - 2:00PM

Li Yunze, director of the National Administration of Financial Regulation. Photo: Reuters

Chinese firms in mobility, hardware are big draw for venture funds, report shows

125 Chinese firms with overseas operations received funding across 156 deals during the period between November 2023 and August this year.

13 Sep 2024 - 8:25PM

China playing it safe with capital, researchers say, as SOEs get hefty payout

Researchers with Rhodium Group say capital in China is being diverted from more dynamic firms into legacy industries and state sectors.

16 Sep 2024 - 12:16PM

China’s technology sector relies heavily on capital from SOEs, government funds

Investment guru Fang Fenglei said the situation could lead to ‘a big problem’ in the industry because it goes against existing Chinese law.

11 Sep 2024 - 6:22PM

Roughly 80 per cent of investments in the country’s tech sector last year came from funds backed by the government and state-owned enterprises, according to investment guru Fang Fenglei. Photo: Shutterstock

China’s Changan Automobile sets up subsidiary in Germany

Company says its first subsidiary in Europe will perform marketing and engineering research to support further expansion on the continent.

4 Sep 2024 - 2:53PMvideocam

New EVs sit at a distribution center of Changan Automobile in China’s southwestern Chongqing municipality on January 14, 2024. Photo: AFP

UBS predicts 10% MSCI China Index rise on profit growth, buy-backs

The call makes UBS an outlier among the global investment community, as most investment banks and asset-management firms are bearish on Chinese stocks.

2 Sep 2024 - 4:35PM

Opinion | China’s third plenum shows its reform era has entered a new phase

As China strives to build a “high-level socialist market economy”, expect the central government to build on the reforms of past decades.

13 Aug 2024 - 4:30PMvideocam

Chinese state-owned firms eye US Midwest for new business amid tense ties

From agriculture to high-speed trains, stakeholders in a better US-China relationship are being their own “ambassadors” rather than just sitting on the sidelines.

8 Aug 2024 - 8:00AM

Cofco Group, a Beijing-based food processor and shipper, wants to engage more with US agriculture but “hopes the geopolitical environment will be easier”. Photo: Xinhua

State-backed firms are top buyers, new pillar in Beijing’s real estate market

State-backed companies have outgunned other investors in Beijing’s commercial property market, adding to their aggressive purchases in 2022 and 2023, according to Savills.

7 Aug 2024 - 3:15PMvideocam

Beijing’s commercial buildings, viewed from a platform in a shopping mall in central business district in July 2024. Photo: AFP

Can Prabowo’s economic policies steer Indonesia through troubled waters?

Experts say the president-elect will face significant financial hurdles, including high debts, weak consumption and geopolitical risks.

5 Aug 2024 - 3:54PMvideocam

Beijing’s office leasing market mired in a downward spiral

‘Office rents in the central business district have declined by 20 to 30 per cent from a year ago because the economy is bad,’ Beijing-based real estate agent says.

28 Jul 2024 - 10:00AMvideocam

Afghan copper mine holds promise for Taliban, tempered expectations for China

As work begins on a long-delayed, multibillion-dollar project, Chinese officials remain cautious, while economic hopes rise in war-torn country.

25 Jul 2024 - 11:55PM

Taliban security personnel surround an excavator during the inauguration ceremony. Photo: AFP

Opinion | China’s timely tax reforms will help local governments deliver stability

With a shift away from disproportionately expecting state governments to power growth, the focus must now be on social welfare and stability.

23 Jul 2024 - 8:30PMvideocam

Opinion | China wants to engage with Europe. Are Brussels and London listening?

Amid deteriorating relations with European governments, Beijing must clarify its positions and help set up an equitable power balance.

20 Jul 2024 - 7:27AMvideocam

At WTO, China’s trade policy sparks war of words amid geopolitical unease

Concerns about industrial overcapacity and lack of transparency in state subsidies elicit ‘frank and open’ exchanges, revealing deep schisms.

20 Jul 2024 - 1:45AMvideocam

Employees work on an electric-vehicle production line at a factory under Jiangling Group Electric Vehicle in Nanchang, China, on May 22, 2024. The European Union this week imposed provisional tariffs on Chinese-made EVs. Photo: Reuters

China’s third plenum vows to back private sector, open up to foreign firms

Observers and business owners welcome initiatives but some raise concerns about implementation at the local level.

20 Jul 2024 - 12:35AMvideocam

A worker welds metal at a factory in Hangzhou in China’s eastern Zhejiang province in June. Photo: AFP

WTO says China backsliding on reforms and is not transparent on subsidies

World Trade Organization report cites studies that say subsidies could top US$900 billion – providing fuel for critics of Beijing’s practices such as the EU and US.

18 Jul 2024 - 5:20AMvideocam

Shanghai officials tell state-backed listed companies to focus on market value

The admonishment from the regulator of state-owned assets comes as the 440 listed companies based in Shanghai are lagging well behind the benchmark CSI 300 Index this year.

17 Jul 2024 - 3:11PM

Chinese finance firms ask Hong Kong staff to return part of their bonuses

Some of China’s largest state-backed financial firms are asking employees in Hong Kong to return a portion of their pay, extending President Xi Jinping’s ‘common prosperity’ campaign to the offshore business hub.

16 Jul 2024 - 5:41PMvideocam

The development marks an escalation of austerity efforts at state-owned financial conglomerates, which have so far mainly limited pay for mainland-based employees. Photo: Shutterstock

China’s state-owned defence firms pledge to tackle corruption

Companies pledge to tighten rules on bidding and procurement amid crackdown that has snared two former defence ministers.

9 Jul 2024 - 10:32PMvideocam

A major contractor for the country’s space programme was among the firms pledging to act. Photo: AFP

More than half of China’s top companies downsized last year. What now?

A Post review of 23 annual reports from leading Chinese firms found that more than half downsized last year, while others slashed staff-related expenses.

9 Jul 2024 - 4:22PM

Peru resolves Chinese megaport dispute as president prepares to meet Xi

A lawsuit challenging Chinese state-owned firm Cosco’s status as the exclusive operator of the US$1.3 billion facility has been dropped.

26 Jun 2024 - 5:50AM

Help preserve 120 years of quality journalism.

SUPPORT NOW

State-owned enterprises

State-owned enterprises (SOEs) are legal entities that undertake commercial activities on behalf of an owner, which is the government of the country where the firm is based and operates. In China, they contribute 60 per cent of gross domestic product, 80 per cent of urban employment and provide 90 per cent of new jobs. Critics say SOEs distort markets and do not allow for a level playing field for overseas companies. Beijing’s subsidies for its SOEs have been one of the major roadblocks to progress in negotiations in the US-China trade war.

last updated:

9 September, 2024