"The central SOEs will contribute to the healthy development of China's capital market," Li said. "We'll strive to improve the performance of the central SOEs, which I believe would continue to provide good returns to investors."

Li Yongsen, a researcher at the Finance and Securities Research Institute affiliated to Renmin University of China in Beijing, yesterday said the shift of larger SOEs to domestic bourses will, in turn, offer more choices for investors.

China has 161 central SOEs under SASAC's supervision, which are expected to generate a record 720 billion yuan (US$92.3 billion) in profits this year, according to the latest projections by the commission.

SASAC's Li yesterday also said that of 190 listed firms held by China's central SOEs, 179 had completed or started share reforms by the end of last month.

He also said SASAC has established a "fairly standardized" supervision system for the investment of SOEs: If they want to invest in non-core businesses, they must get the commission's approval.

The annual investment of the central SOEs totals 1 trillion yuan (US$126.6 billion), 97.6 per cent of which is channelled to core business operations, he said.

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