Crucial time ahead for SOE shake-up

Cutting number of firms key task for SASAC

In the middle of this year, the State Council announced a target of reducing the number of State-Owned Enterprises to between 80 and 100 by the end of this year and about 20 more need to be merged in the final two months.

Two months ago, when the new director of the State Council's State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC), Wang Yong, took the helm, he faced a tough task: reduce the number of State enterprises from 122 to under 100 in a four-month period.