On the afternoon of September 8th, the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC) of Chongqing convened a scheduling meeting focused on deepening the reform of state-owned enterprises (SOEs). Li Dian, the Party Secretary and Director of Chongqing SASAC, emphasized the need to strengthen the sense of responsibility and mission, prioritize key tasks, and enhance collaborative efforts to drive forward the reform initiative.

Regarding the key tasks, Li Dian proposed accelerating breakthroughs across eight specific areas. Over the past two years, the Chongqing municipal government has launched a large-scale campaign known as the "Three Attacks and One Revitalization" initiative. This systematic effort aims to reform, consolidate, and upgrade the city's state-owned assets and industrial parks, repositioning key municipal SOEs to enhance their core functions and vitality.

Accelerating Restructuring and Enhancing Asset Revitalization Efforts

Among the eight breakthroughs outlined, the first two focus squarely on addressing structural issues within the enterprises themselves. The first priority is to accelerate breakthroughs in restructuring and consolidation in key sectors. This involves thoroughly driving the deep integration of enterprises post-restructuring, improving the efficiency of professional resource allocation, and strengthening specialized management. The goal is to expedite the transformation from mere "physical integration" to a substantive "chemical reaction" within these entities.

The second priority is to achieve progress in stopping losses, streamlining operations, and revitalizing assets. This requires establishing a long-term mechanism for loss prevention and remediation tailored to each enterprise, analyzing the root causes of losses individually, and devising detailed recovery strategies. The existing achievements in organizational streamlining will be expanded, with a scheduled approach to closing out remaining tasks. Additionally, significant efforts will be made to unlock the value of existing assets, creating replicable case studies for asset revitalization.

Back in February, data released by Chongqing SASAC showed that since the launch of the reform breakthrough, the municipal SOEs have concentrated on strengthening their primary responsibilities and core functions. They have focused on strategic restructuring, professional integration, organizational streamlining, loss remediation, and asset revitalization. The campaign has led to the implementation of 19 enterprise restructuring projects across 5 batches. The total number of legal entity levels has been optimized down to 679, with management layers within municipal SOEs strictly controlled to three levels (or a reasonable four). This has resulted in a five-category layout encompassing industry, functions, finance, cultural tourism, and investment operations, with total assets reaching 5.9 trillion yuan.

Data released at a reform promotion meeting on June 23rd indicated that during the first five months of the year, municipal SOEs had revitalized assets worth 22.69 billion yuan and recovered 12.71 billion yuan in capital. During the same period, the operating revenue of key municipal SOEs grew 3.8% year-on-year, while total profits increased by 9.2%.

Platform Transition and Enhanced Supervision Draw Attention

Among the eight key areas, Li Dian also highlighted the need to accelerate breakthroughs in the transformation of enterprises exiting the financing platform list. This involves adhering to market-oriented principles, formulating and implementing transition plans for each company, and promoting the growth of market-oriented businesses within these entities to prevent them from reverting to platform status.

According to a joint notice from the People's Bank of China, the Ministry of Finance, the National Development and Reform Commission, and the China Securities Regulatory Commission, the deadline for urban investment companies to exit the financing platform list is set for the end of June 2027. With less than a year remaining before the deadline for clearing the platform list, the exit work is currently in a critical phase. Details on the specific companies in Chongqing currently on the list for delisting have not yet been confirmed.

The push to accelerate breakthroughs in state-owned asset supervision and corporate governance is also noteworthy. Li Dian proposed swiftly building a penetrative supervision system that strengthens oversight across key fields like major decisions, investments, property rights, and finance, aiming to achieve comprehensive connectivity through the "Wisdom Supervision of State Assets" system. Furthermore, efforts will be made to perfect corporate governance structures by fully implementing "Three Major and One Large" decision-making systems across all levels and elements, completing the appointment of all external directors, and bolstering the role of board audit and risk committees.

Hu Weiqing, a former dean of the School of Business Administration at Chongqing University of Science and Technology, noted that in recent years, state-owned asset systems across various regions have intensified their market-oriented reforms. He remarked that Chongqing was a pioneer in these reforms over a decade ago, with its state-owned asset scale ranking among the top in the nation. Facing new development trends, Chongqing's attempt to catch up through self-driven breakthroughs is commendable.