PROFIT declines for China's state-owned enterprises continued but narrowed in November, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday.
China's non-financial SOEs raked in 2 trillion yuan (US$309 billion) in profits from January to November, down 9.5 per cent year on year, compared with a 9.8 per cent drop for the first 10 months, said a ministry statement.
This was the first improvement in SOE profitability in the second half of 2015, although difficulties remained as the Chinese economy is still struggling to find a solid footing.
However, there was a steeper profit decline for SOEs administered by local governments.
These SOEs made 577.4 billion yuan in profits in the first 11 months, a drop of 7.3 per cent, compared with declines of 6 per cent for January-October, 2.7 per cent for Jnauary - September and 1 per cent for January - August.
Profitability in sectors including transport, chemistry and electricity improved substantially in the first 11 months, while petroleum and construction material businesses suffered sharp profit drops.
Steel, coal and nonferrous industries continued to see losses.
"China's SOEs operated stably and showed signs of improvement, but downward pressure was still considerable," said the statement.
Source: http://www.shanghaidaily.com/business/finance/Chinese-SOEs-narrow-decline-in-profits/shdaily.shtml
