China to sell stakes in more SOEs

China is set to kick off the second round of state-enterprise reform, with as many as 10 companies from rail firm CRRC Corp. to China National Nuclear Corp. preparing proposals to sell stakes in their units as part of the government’s drive to diversify ownership, according to Bloomberg.  CRRC plans to invite Fosun International Ltd. and SDIC Fund Management as investors in the trainmaker’s CRRC Industrial Investment Co. unit. CNNC intends to ask state-owned peers and private investors to become minority owners in its nuclear-fuel division, sources said. The companies are among a number of state-owned enterprises identified by the government for the second round of revamp as China seeks to improve efficiency of the public sector while retaining control of dominant ones in crucial industries. The country will deepen consolidation of central SOEs in 2017 and the government will ensure reform participants get market returns, Xiao Yaqing, chairman of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission said in March.