Twenty-five state-owned enterprises (SOEs) in China will recruit qualified people from overseas and domestic entrepreneurs as senior managerial personnel, the Sate-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC) announced in Beijing Sunday.

The 25 posts include two general managers, eight deputy general managers and 15 chief accountants, SASAC noted. This is the first time for SOEs in China to look for chief executives from general public.

Fifteen SOEs seek to recruit their managerial personnel from both overseas and among Chinese entrepreneurs, and the other ten only receive applicants with Chinese nationality.

The application process, which started in early May, is expected to end by the end of September this year, SASAC said.

In 2003, the same kind of recruitment by six of China's biggest SOEs for senior managers allured 463 applicants from both at home and overseas.