State-owned firms’ Jan-April profits surge

Profits at China’s State-owned firms rose 24.8 percent in the first four months of 2017 from the same period a year earlier, the Ministry of Finance said on Wednesday. Total profits stood at 824.75 billion yuan ($119.69 billion) in January-April, while revenue rose 17.5 percent to 15.58 trillion yuan, the ministry said. State firms’ total liabilities rose 11 percent year-on-year to 90.37 trillion yuan at the end of April, it said.