China launches $ 52.5b fund for restructuring of SOEs

A private equity fund of 350 billion yuan ($ 52.5 billion) has been launched in China to help with the restructuring of State- owned enterprises ( SOEs), a newspaper reported on Monday.

The China State- owned Enterprises Restructuring Fund will be managed by the State- owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission ( SASAC), according to the Beijing- based Economic Information Daily.

The report said 10 State- owned enterprises have established the fund to help with restructuring of SOEs, including merger and acquisition deals, as part of government efforts to advance supply- side reform.

The 10 companies provided initial registered capital of 131 billion yuan, the report said.

No details were provided on the source of the rest of the equity fund.

The 10 companies include China Mobile, China Railway Rolling Stock Corp, China Petroleum & Chemical Corp and China Chengtong Holding Group, a restructuring platform supervised by the SASAC that will lead the fund. China is embarking on a revamp of its SOE sector, which has struggled under a system that requires companies to maximize economic gains while fulfilling government policy objectives.

The government has vowed to create innovative and globally competitive enterprises through mergers, asset swaps and management reforms.