China's 190 major state-owned enterprises (SOEs) made a combined profit of 103.5 billion yuan (12.5 billion US dollars) in the first quarter, reaching a record growth rate of 27.3 percent year on year.

According to the financial bulletin released Monday by the State Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council (SASAC), sales volume of the major SOEs was 1,152.8 billion yuan from January to March, up 24.6 percent over the first quarter of 2003.

The statistics showed that the profit of SOEs in the industries of oil, petrochemical and metallurgy maintained rapid growth, in industries of communication, electricity and coal continued to grow steadily, and in sectors of war industry, equipment manufacturing, trade and construction improved gradually.

The SASAC began to implement an evaluation system in all the SOEs on Jan. 1, 2004, aiming to ensure the growth of the state-owned assets.

The reform would focus on internal management, reducing costs and effectively controlling fixed assets investment of the SOEs, so as to further improve their performance and profits, said sources with the SASAC.

Source: Xinhua