The combined net profit of China's State-owned enterprises (SOEs) for the first 11 months of 2008 amounted to 1.2 trillion yuan (US$175 billion), down 15.7 percent from a year earlier, Ministry of Finance figures showed. Aggregate sales rose 20.3 percent to 19 trillion yuan.

The 143 SOEs directly controlled by the central government posted a total profit of 847.56 billion yuan in the 11 months preceding Nov 30, down 19.8 percent year-on-year, and the combined profits of SOEs controlled by provincial and other local governments were down 3.8 percent to 351.88 billion yuan.

Total tax payable by the SOEs amounted to 1.59 trillion yuan by November, up 14.4 percent year-on-year.

SOEs in the heavy industrial sector, including power generation, nonferrous metal, petroleum and automobile, have seen a sharp decline in their profits since the beginning of the third quarter because of dwindling market demand.

(China Daily December 23, 2008)