The National Bureau of Statistics has defined six features of industrial enterprises after analyzing the 1,000 biggest industrial businesses in terms of annual revenue from major business.

--- Considerable expansion of scale and stronger competitiveness. The 1,000 in 2004 had their revenue from their major business higher by 31.2 percent than those 1,000 peers in 2003. Their assets were 27.3 percent and profits 27.6 percent more than those in 2003.

--- Benefits of scale and productivity improved. The assets-profit ratio of the 1,000 largest players was 7.3 percent, 32.7 percent well above the industrial average.

--- State-owned enterprises, share holding companies, as well as businesses funded by foreign capital or investors from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan playing a major role. Out of the 1,000 biggest, 934 are such enterprises.

--- Heavy industry-oriented. The six leading industrial enterprises are in transportation equipment manufacturing, power, chemicals, and oil refinery sectors.

--- East area in advantage. 663 enterprises out of the 1,000 are based in China's east.

--- Performance imbalance. Profits mainly went to oil exploitation, iron & steel, and power. Enterprises in these sectors generated nearly three quarters of the gross profits made by the 1,000 largest.

By People's Daily Online