Chinese SOE profits edge up in 2016

BEIJING-- Combined profits of Chinese state-owned enterprises (SOEs) rose 1.7 percent year on year in 2016, a sharp contrast to the 6.7-percent drop in 2015, official data showed Thursday.

Last year, total SOE profits stood at 2.32 trillion yuan ($338 billion), the Ministry of Finance said in a statement.

Profits of SOEs under central government control fell 4.7 percent, while those for locally administered SOEs climbed 16.9 percent year on year.

Building materials, transport and real estate companies posted strong increases, while textile, oil, tobacco and petrochemical SOEs reported major drops. Losses were reported in the steel, chemical and non-ferrous metal sectors, the statement said.

SOE revenues increased 2.6 percent year on year to 45.9 trillion yuan. Operating costs were up 2.5 percent to 44.99 trillion yuan. Tax receipts from the companies dropped 0.7 percent.

The ministry's figures track state-owned and state-controlled companies outside the financial sector.

China's GDP grew 6.8 percent in the last quarter of 2016, higher than the 6.7 percent in the previous three quarters. Full-year growth was 6.7 percent, within the government target of between 6.5 and 7 percent.

China's producer price index, which measures costs of goods at the factory gate, jumped 5.5 percent year on year in December 2016 to reach a five-year high, showing the economy was on a steadier footing.