CRI听力: Profits of China's state firms top 316 bln yuan in the first half year

Profit within China's major state-owned Enterprises or SOEs fell 26 percent in the first half of the year. However, head of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, Li Rongrong said the decline is easing amid massive government stimulus spending. Our reporter Wang Ling has more.

Reporter:
Li Rongrong delivered the upbeat message on Tuesday at a summit meeting of top state-owed companies in Beijing.

Although profits declined 26 percent over the past six months, Li said the rate of decrease was 15.6 percentage points lower than the first quarter.(www.hXen.com)

"I must say I'm quite happy about the figure. It is not an easy job against the difficult financial backdrop. As the world economy continues to suffer, state-owned companies will face even tougher challenges than small and medium-sized companies. "

China's top 136 SOEs reported a total profit of 316 billion yuan, or 46 billion US dollars from January to June. Taxes paid by these enterprises in the first half were down 1.5 percent from a year earlier, standing at about 520 billion yuan.

Li Rongrong attributed this slowing decline to government efforts to improve state-owned corporations' asset quality and competitiveness through consolidation.

Meanwhile he suggests enterprises react quicker to market demand and adjust development strategies to avoid risks.

"The economic situation is tough; however, company leaders should work out problems by taking initiatives. On the other hand, leadership must continue to improve management in compliance with the law of market. I think we can learn a lot from surviving the crisis and make good preparations for the future."

Wang Ling CRI news.