Revision of zombie SOEs to speed up

The restructuring of unprofitable State-owned enterprises will be boosted to unleash their potential from the constraints of nonbusiness operations, such as schools and hospitals, to enhance industrial profits.

An executive meeting of the State Council presided over by Premier Li Keqiang on Wednesday decided to speed up the restructuring of "zombie enterprises" to encourage the market-oriented allocation of resources, a statement released after the meeting said.

The meeting pledged support for the SOEs to shake off their "historic burden", a term often used to describe the nonbusiness operations of SOEs, such as schools and hospitals-common establishments for super-powerful industrial giants born during the era of a planned economy.