Tightening grip over SOEs? China orders state-run companies to make profits

The move represents the latest sign that the Communist Party is tightening its grip over the country's $24 trillion SOE sector

China has taken the unusual step of ordering its biggest state-owned enterprises to earn profits this year as the government increases its scrutiny of bloated businesses, according to people familiar with the matter.

The State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission told senior executives on Jan. 15 about the edict, which will apply to all of the nation’s 98 central SOEs, according to the people, who asked not to be named because they weren’t authorised to discuss the matter with the media. It was the first time in recent memory that the government made it mandatory for SOEs to make profits,