China is preparing a fresh round of megamergers between state-owned behemoths in the energy, heavy machinery and steel sectors, as hopes fade for a more fundamental overhaul of the state sector.
State-owned enterprises account for more than a third of total investment and receive almost 30 per cent of bank loans but generate less than a tenth of total gross domestic product, according to Gavekal-Dragonomics, a Beijing-based research provider.
In a landmark economic reform blueprint approved in late 2013, top Communist party leaders pledged to “raise corporate efficiency” at SOEs while also ensuring that they “undertake social responsibility”. Analysts say the inherent tension between these two goals has never been resolved.