Northeast China, the country’s rust belt, has a long history of heavy industry and energy production.

Now another round of reforms hoping to boost the vitality of the region's state-owned enterprises (SOEs) with private-sector funds has been announced.

A state-owned asset management watchdog in northeast China’s Liaoning province has offered 52 provincial SOEs the opportunity for “mixed-ownership reform,” which would allow the enterprises to accept both investment and management from the private sector, according to state-run Xinhua News Agency.

The 52 SOEs are in the equipment manufacturing, environmental services, and metallurgy industries, among others. Notably on the list is Benxi Steel Group Corporation, which was founded in 1905 and is widely considered one of the “cradles of China’s steel industry.”

The total assets of these SOEs are worth an estimated 200 billion yuan ($29.78 billion), and they currently employ approximately 80,000 people, an official said to Xinhua.

Local regulations under the reform’s umbrella have set very few specific restrictions on things such as private partners’ share-holding percentages, in order to attract a wide range of possible partners, Xinhua said.

A list of the 52 SOEs affected, as well as a few of their draft plans, are available through major equity exchanges in China.

Related: More State Enterprises Set for Mixed-Ownership Reforms