China's SOE Supervisor Gets Tough on Corruption

(Beijing) — The government agency that oversees China's state-owned enterprises (SOEs) said it is stepping up efforts to crack down on corruption and punish poor decision-making that has cost large state-run conglomerates billions of yuan in losses in recent years.

The State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council (SASAC), a ministry-level body that directly oversees government owned industrial and service conglomerates, will set up three new supervision bureaus to conduct in-depth investigations to spot corruption and negligence, punish wrongdoers and push for reforms within SOEs, SASAC Vice Chairman Wang Wenbin said on Wednesday. SOEs under the agency and its 32 provincial branches had assets worth 128 trillion yuan ($18.9 trillion) as of September.