BEIJING: China’s state-owned enterprises saw their profits decline faster in the first 10 months of 2015, as they were hurt by the economic slowdown, official data showed yesterday.
SOE profits fell 9.8 percent year on year in the January-October period, a deeper decline than the 8.2 percent drop in the first nine months, according to figures from the Ministry of Finance.
Profits totaled 1.88 trillion yuan (US$294 billion), with profits of SOEs under central government control slumping 11.3 percent to 1.35 trillion yuan.
Locally administered SOEs posted a 6 percent drop in profits in the first 10 months, a third straight fall and a sharper decline than that of 2.7 percent in the first nine months, according to the ministry.
SOEs in petrochemicals, oil refining and construction materials sectors saw sharp profit declines, while the steel, coal and nonferrous metal sectors continued to suffer losses. But the profits of transport and electronics SOEs continued to improve.
SOEs have been hurt by an economic downturn that cut China’s economic growth to 6.9 percent in the third quarter, the lowest reading since the second quarter of 2009.
The government is trying to improve their fortunes by moving toward mixed ownership and market-based management.
