Economy

Chinese enterprises should seek more innovation

By Yan Weijue (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2010-06-25 16:12

Central enterprises are still in need of a core competitive edge and improvement in independent innovation ability despite making big strides in recent years, said an official on Thursday, People's Daily reported Friday.

Li Rongrong, director of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council (SASAC), made the comment at a working conference.

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He said that among the 125 central enterprises, few have world-famous brands, despite some being highly profitable, like China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC), which was listed as No 1 of the top 500 list in market value by UK's Financial Times last month.

Li attributes the high ranking to the rapid growth of the whole nation's economy, adding that manufacturing remains the focus of the enterprises, which restricts the development of high-end industries and results in a 70 percent dependence on imports in terms of technology adoption.

In order to encourage enterprises to enhance their independent innovation ability, Li also said that the SASAC has decided to promote the incentive mechanism of share ownership for listed high-tech companies.