Official: China centrally administered enterprises saw recovery in March

Special Report: Boao Forum For Asia
2009

Special Report:Global Financial Crisis

¡¤China's SOEs reported a 26% growth in profits in March from a year ago.
¡¤Li said China's economy might see a better-than-expected recovery.
¡¤Li urged enterprises to ensure enough cash liquidity amid the financial crisis.

BOAO, Hainan, April 19 (Xinhua) -- China's
centrally-administered state-owned enterprises (SOEs) reported a rebound in
performance in March with a 26 percent growth in profits from a year ago, said
an official with China's state asset watchdog Sunday.

The March figure was compared with a 33.3 percent
year-on-year drop in profits during the first two months.

Government policies for cushioning effects from the
global economic downturn had paid off, Li Rongrong, Minister in charge of
State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC), said
Sunday at the Boao Forum for Asia annual conference 2009 in Boao, Hainan
Province.

March profits also surged 86 percent from February,
he said. But the specific profits figure was not available.

Operating revenue fell 5.4 percent year on year, but
rose 25 percent from February.

Li said he was optimistic but prudent about the
future, and the country's economy might see a better-than-expected recovery with
joint efforts from the government and enterprises.

He urged enterprises to ensure enough cash liquidity
amid the financial crisis.

Talking about acquisitions abroad, he said, "money is
not a problem for these enterprises going overseas for acquisition, but
management is the top one".

Acquisition should be done within their capital,
management and technology capability, otherwise the results would be
catastrophic, he said.

He noted it was more important for major enterprises
to focus on tackling the economic slowdown, as they played an important role in
the national economy and also shouldered great responsibility.

The government released an announcement in February
to launch a special examination on major investment projects and mergers of
centrally-administered SOEs to prevent fiscal risks.

The enterprises should improve their management and
structure, and upgrade information system, Li said.

The 2008 profits of Chinese SOEs under direct central
government control recorded the first annual decline since 2002, falling more
than 30 percent year on year to 665.29 billion yuan (97.2 billion U.S. dollars).

Premier: China's stimulus package plan
paying off

BOAO, Hainan, April 18 (Xinhua) -- China's economic
stimulus package plan is already paying off, and positive changes have taken
place in the economy, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said Saturday.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao gives a
keynote speech at the opening plenary of Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) Annual
Conference 2009 in Boao, a scenic town in south China¡¯s Hainan Province,
April 18, 2009. The BFA Annual Conference 2009 opened here on Saturday
with the theme of ¡°Asia: Managing Beyond Crisis¡±. (Xinhua/Ma
Zhancheng)
Photo
Gallery

"The situation is better than expected," Wen said at the
opening ceremony of the Boao Forum for Asia annual conference 2009.

The "swift" and "decisive" measures taken by China to deal
with the crisis has proved essential for easing major problems in the economy,
shoring up confidence and stabilizing expectations, said the premier. Full story