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China's southern city of Shenzhen, a pioneer in the country's opening-up, has made another bold step in the reform of state-owned enterprises by selling company shares through international tender.
Five major State enterprises covering energy, water, gas, public transportation and food have been selected as the first batch to sell part of their stakes, Thursday's China Daily quoted Shenzhen Mayor Yu Youjun as saying at a press conference Wednesday.
"This practice is a first try in China, and we have strong support from the State Council," said Yu.
Foreigners will be invited to bid for minority stakes in the Shenzhen Energy Group, Shenzhen Water (Group), Shenzhen Gas Group and Shenzhen Public Transportation (Group) Ltd, Yu said.
The municipal government plans to sell 25 percent of Shenzhen Energy, 45 percent of Shenzhen Water, 24 percent of Shenzhen Gas and 45 percent of Shenzhen Public Transportation to foreign investors, he said.
A 14-percent stake in Shenzhen Gas will be sold to a domestic investor.
"As the four companies are in key industries where the government still imposes price controls on products, their controlling stakes will remain in the hands of the Chinese side," Yu told the conference.
Many Chinese State-owned enterprises need money to restructure and deal with increasing foreign competition as the country is opening up its economy after joining the World Trade Organization late last year.
(Xinhua News Agency August 29, 2002)
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