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China’s state-owned enterprises （SOEs） have long been criticized for their low efficiency， bureaucracy and even corruption.
Excessively preferential treatment from the government has put SOEs in a better position in market competition， with greater ease of access to resources such as land and credit. Some traditionally SOE-monopolized areas have even become a hot bed of corruption.
Amid increasingly louder calls for reforming SOEs， Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said the country will speed up the development of a mixed-ownership economy by allowing nonstate capital investment in more state projects. Li made the remarks when delivering the government work report during the opening meeting of the Second Session of the 12th National People’s Congress （NPC）， China’s top legislature， in Beijing on March 5.
“We will formulate measures for non-state capital to participate in the investment projects of centrally administered SOEs，” Li said.
Non-state capital will be allowed to participate in a number of projects in industrial areas such as banking， oil， electricity， railway， telecommunications， resource development and public utilities， Li said.
A reform plan released after the Third Plenum of the 18th Communist Party of China（CPC） Central Committee held last November pledged to let the market play a decisive role and recognized the private sector’s role in fostering growth and creating jobs.
The decision adopted at the plenum said China shall actively develop a mixed ownership economy， allowing more SOEs and other firms to develop into mixed-ownership companies.
In February， China’s oil refiner Sinopec became the first SOE to deliver on that promise. The state-owned behemoth announced it would bring in social and private capital to sell its oil products， the first opening up of the largely monopolized area.
Sinopec is the first of the three big state oil companies， including PetroChina and CNOOC， to bring private capital into the distribution of refined oil products—one of the most profitable sectors of Sinopec’s main businesses.
China is expected to release guidelines for SOE reform after the annual NPC session， according to media reports. State-owned and private companies both have their respective advantages and disadvantages. A mixture of the two is believed to be capable of creating a better corporate governance structure that can bring the best out of the two types.
Opposites attract Li Yining， one of China’s most noted economists， said China has much to do when it comes to deepening reforms， but the most urgent task should be building a mixed-ownership economy and it’s the one which will return the most immediate benefits.
Huang Shuhe， Vice Chairman of the Stateowned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission （SASAC） of the State Council， said developing a mixed-ownership economy is of great significance. “It can add to competitiveness of SOEs and help improve their corporate governance structure. It’s also useful for promoting deeper integration between stateowned and private capital and making the best of their respective advantages.”
Ding Yifan， Deputy Director of the Institute of World Development under the State Council’s Development Research Center， said SOE reform comes as a direct result of complaints about SOEs’ poor efficiency and their preferential treatment at the hands of the government.
Lu Guiqing， Chairman of China Construction Fifth Engineering Division Corp. Ltd.， said the time has come to step up reforms on China’s SOEs by diversifying ownership.
Lu said operating an SOE is like dancing with shackles. He said if the binding from the government is relaxed， SOEs will be able to move faster and perform better.
Data from the SASAC showed in December last year the number of centrally administered SOEs and their subsidiaries that had introduced private capital to form mixed ownership accounted for only 52 percent of the total.
With the government’s drive for mixed ownership， analysts expect more SOEs will follow suit and open up to private capital.
Private firms are eagerly waiting to cash in on the opportunity.
Wang Junjin， Board Chairman of JuneYao Group， a Shanghai-based private firm， said SOEs and private firms need each other.
“SOEs and private firms are vastly different. The former have more talent and are more organized while the latter are more flexible and can make quick decisions when facing market turbulence. By mixing them， SOEs will be stronger and more flexible and private firms will have more investment opportunities.”
There are lots of opportunities in this regard for private firms. Whether or not they can seize this opportunity depends on their ability and adopting a proper mindset， Wang said.
Zan Shengda， President of Zongyi Co. Ltd.， a private firm based in east China’s Jiangsu Province， said that springtime for private companies has finally arrived with the government’s drive to build a mixedownership economy. “In 2002， I said that springtime for private companies had come. However， it hadn’t yet arrived. Private companies faced many difficulties and obstacles in getting funds and attaining resources and market access. Such an unfair market environment has suppressed Chinese entrepreneurs and compromised their dreams.” “SOEs are like the eldest son of the country， being more favored. But it doesn’t mean other sons shouldn’t be equally loved. China should accelerate the development of mixed-ownership economy to give private capital more room，” said Zan.
Concerns
The move to encourage diversified shareholding in SOEs is not without controversy， however.
Zong Qinghou， Board Chairman of Chinese beverage giant Wahaha， voiced his concerns on this topic during the just concluded NPC annual session.
“Private firms are not allowed to have a controlling stake in SOEs. Therefore， they don’t have a say in major decisions. Eventually， SOEs would swallow private capitals，” Zong told Beijing Review.
Another concern is that， previously， SOE leaders were appointed by the CPC， which is not in line with modern managing principles.
SASAC Vice Chairman Huang said administrative appointment will be phased out in SOEs that have diversified ownership and senior man- agers will be hired and managed by the board.
Chen Xuyuan， Board Chairman of Shanghai International Port （Group） Co. Ltd.， a listed SOE， said his company had long ago canceled administrative appointment and given the board responsibility for managing the company.
“Diversifying ownership in SOEs aims at building a market-oriented corporate governance system，” Chen told Beijing Review. “It doesn’t matter whether the capital is stateowned or private. What matters is only how competitive the capital is.”
Zhang Chuanwei， Board Chairman of China Ming Yang Wind Power Group Ltd. said SOEs and private companies should have rights to earnings and voting in proportion to their amount of investment. “SOEs shouldn’t have any privilege over other investors.”
Liu Yonghao， Board Chairman of the Sichuan-based New Hope Group， said mixedownership in SOEs should be combined with a modern corporate governance structure to ensure opinions from all shareholders are heard. “In that way， the mixed company is more nimble， more adaptive to the market and more competitive. Otherwise， a simple mix will not be capable of bringing out the advantages from the two types of ownership.”
On the flip side， some worry this round of SOE reform could engender corruption.
Chinese President Xi Jinping said developing a mixed-ownership economy represents an inevitable future trend. “The basic policy has been set forth. But the details haven’t. The key lies in the details. Lessons must be learned from previous experiences. SOE reform should never become a chance for some people to embezzle state assets.”
For Huang， protection of state assets should be strengthened as much as the protection of private capital.
“Private companies worried about being swallowed but SOEs are equally worried about embezzlement.”
In the 1990s， when China rolled out SOE reform， a large amount of state assets were embezzled by some corrupt SOE leaders.
“China should learn from the past，” said Huang. “We should be bold in mind and cautious in actions
Excessively preferential treatment from the government has put SOEs in a better position in market competition， with greater ease of access to resources such as land and credit. Some traditionally SOE-monopolized areas have even become a hot bed of corruption.
Amid increasingly louder calls for reforming SOEs， Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said the country will speed up the development of a mixed-ownership economy by allowing nonstate capital investment in more state projects. Li made the remarks when delivering the government work report during the opening meeting of the Second Session of the 12th National People’s Congress （NPC）， China’s top legislature， in Beijing on March 5.
“We will formulate measures for non-state capital to participate in the investment projects of centrally administered SOEs，” Li said.
Non-state capital will be allowed to participate in a number of projects in industrial areas such as banking， oil， electricity， railway， telecommunications， resource development and public utilities， Li said.
A reform plan released after the Third Plenum of the 18th Communist Party of China（CPC） Central Committee held last November pledged to let the market play a decisive role and recognized the private sector’s role in fostering growth and creating jobs.
The decision adopted at the plenum said China shall actively develop a mixed ownership economy， allowing more SOEs and other firms to develop into mixed-ownership companies.
In February， China’s oil refiner Sinopec became the first SOE to deliver on that promise. The state-owned behemoth announced it would bring in social and private capital to sell its oil products， the first opening up of the largely monopolized area.
Sinopec is the first of the three big state oil companies， including PetroChina and CNOOC， to bring private capital into the distribution of refined oil products—one of the most profitable sectors of Sinopec’s main businesses.
China is expected to release guidelines for SOE reform after the annual NPC session， according to media reports. State-owned and private companies both have their respective advantages and disadvantages. A mixture of the two is believed to be capable of creating a better corporate governance structure that can bring the best out of the two types.
Opposites attract Li Yining， one of China’s most noted economists， said China has much to do when it comes to deepening reforms， but the most urgent task should be building a mixed-ownership economy and it’s the one which will return the most immediate benefits.
Huang Shuhe， Vice Chairman of the Stateowned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission （SASAC） of the State Council， said developing a mixed-ownership economy is of great significance. “It can add to competitiveness of SOEs and help improve their corporate governance structure. It’s also useful for promoting deeper integration between stateowned and private capital and making the best of their respective advantages.”
Ding Yifan， Deputy Director of the Institute of World Development under the State Council’s Development Research Center， said SOE reform comes as a direct result of complaints about SOEs’ poor efficiency and their preferential treatment at the hands of the government.
Lu Guiqing， Chairman of China Construction Fifth Engineering Division Corp. Ltd.， said the time has come to step up reforms on China’s SOEs by diversifying ownership.
Lu said operating an SOE is like dancing with shackles. He said if the binding from the government is relaxed， SOEs will be able to move faster and perform better.
Data from the SASAC showed in December last year the number of centrally administered SOEs and their subsidiaries that had introduced private capital to form mixed ownership accounted for only 52 percent of the total.
With the government’s drive for mixed ownership， analysts expect more SOEs will follow suit and open up to private capital.
Private firms are eagerly waiting to cash in on the opportunity.
Wang Junjin， Board Chairman of JuneYao Group， a Shanghai-based private firm， said SOEs and private firms need each other.
“SOEs and private firms are vastly different. The former have more talent and are more organized while the latter are more flexible and can make quick decisions when facing market turbulence. By mixing them， SOEs will be stronger and more flexible and private firms will have more investment opportunities.”
There are lots of opportunities in this regard for private firms. Whether or not they can seize this opportunity depends on their ability and adopting a proper mindset， Wang said.
Zan Shengda， President of Zongyi Co. Ltd.， a private firm based in east China’s Jiangsu Province， said that springtime for private companies has finally arrived with the government’s drive to build a mixedownership economy. “In 2002， I said that springtime for private companies had come. However， it hadn’t yet arrived. Private companies faced many difficulties and obstacles in getting funds and attaining resources and market access. Such an unfair market environment has suppressed Chinese entrepreneurs and compromised their dreams.” “SOEs are like the eldest son of the country， being more favored. But it doesn’t mean other sons shouldn’t be equally loved. China should accelerate the development of mixed-ownership economy to give private capital more room，” said Zan.
Concerns
The move to encourage diversified shareholding in SOEs is not without controversy， however.
Zong Qinghou， Board Chairman of Chinese beverage giant Wahaha， voiced his concerns on this topic during the just concluded NPC annual session.
“Private firms are not allowed to have a controlling stake in SOEs. Therefore， they don’t have a say in major decisions. Eventually， SOEs would swallow private capitals，” Zong told Beijing Review.
Another concern is that， previously， SOE leaders were appointed by the CPC， which is not in line with modern managing principles.
SASAC Vice Chairman Huang said administrative appointment will be phased out in SOEs that have diversified ownership and senior man- agers will be hired and managed by the board.
Chen Xuyuan， Board Chairman of Shanghai International Port （Group） Co. Ltd.， a listed SOE， said his company had long ago canceled administrative appointment and given the board responsibility for managing the company.
“Diversifying ownership in SOEs aims at building a market-oriented corporate governance system，” Chen told Beijing Review. “It doesn’t matter whether the capital is stateowned or private. What matters is only how competitive the capital is.”
Zhang Chuanwei， Board Chairman of China Ming Yang Wind Power Group Ltd. said SOEs and private companies should have rights to earnings and voting in proportion to their amount of investment. “SOEs shouldn’t have any privilege over other investors.”
Liu Yonghao， Board Chairman of the Sichuan-based New Hope Group， said mixedownership in SOEs should be combined with a modern corporate governance structure to ensure opinions from all shareholders are heard. “In that way， the mixed company is more nimble， more adaptive to the market and more competitive. Otherwise， a simple mix will not be capable of bringing out the advantages from the two types of ownership.”
On the flip side， some worry this round of SOE reform could engender corruption.
Chinese President Xi Jinping said developing a mixed-ownership economy represents an inevitable future trend. “The basic policy has been set forth. But the details haven’t. The key lies in the details. Lessons must be learned from previous experiences. SOE reform should never become a chance for some people to embezzle state assets.”
For Huang， protection of state assets should be strengthened as much as the protection of private capital.
“Private companies worried about being swallowed but SOEs are equally worried about embezzlement.”
In the 1990s， when China rolled out SOE reform， a large amount of state assets were embezzled by some corrupt SOE leaders.
“China should learn from the past，” said Huang. “We should be bold in mind and cautious in actions