China SOEs' total profit in 2013 expected to be 1.3t yuan

The total profits earned by China's centrally administered State-owned enterprises (SOEs) is expected to be around 1.3 trillion yuan ($214.2 billion) in 2013, a senior official from the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC) said on Sunday.

Most centrally administered SOEs saw improved business performance in the first 11 months of this year, and are set to fulfill targets set by the SASAC, Huang Shuhe, vice chairman of SASAC, said at a conference held on Sunday.

A total of 11 centrally administered SOEs including Sinopec Group, China Huaneng Group and China Faw Group Corp posted profit increments of more than 5 billion yuan during the first 11 months, and many loss-making companies had reduced losses, Huang said.

"It's very difficult to obtain such results in the current complex and changeable domestic and international situation," he said.

The SASAC will evaluate the SOEs' performance in 2014, and companies that post persistent losses or fail to adhere to higher environmental and safety standards will face tough punishment, Huang said.

The commission is also working on policy changes to make the SOEs more competitive, more profit-driven and make bigger contributions to the economy, he noted.

Currently there are 113 SOEs under the administration of SASAC.