The Stated-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council (SASAC), established exactly nine months ago, has made major achievements in 2003, SASAC director Li Rongrong said at a high-level meeting of the commission in Beijing Wednesday.

The first breakthrough lies in legislation, he said. SASAC made major contribution to promulgation of the tentative statute on the supervision of state-owned assets only two months after its establishment.

The statute is the first specialized law on administration of stated-owned assets in China and paves the way for a state-owned assets law.

SASAC is also busy with legislation of other 14 relevant regulations.

SASAC inspected the management of 55 major SOEs, adjusted or set up 66 SOE managerial groups, and appointed or removed 211 senior managers in 2003.

In mid-December, SASAC signed contracts with 20 major SOEs, setting the goals these SOEs should achieve in 2004. This is SASAC's first step as an investor to monitor performance by connecting performance with payment.

"Through the contracts, SASAC and the SOE managers have made a joint commitment to the people that someone is going to be responsible for China's state-owned assets." he said.

Li said mergers and acquisitions will become one of the focal points of China's state-owned economy.

SASAC helped 22 SOEs regroup into 11 larger units this year, and promoted several SOEs to list in the overseas security market, Li said.
 
(Xinhua News Agency December 24, 2003)