State firm dividends to total over $6.8bn

China's national-level state-owned enterprises may return a total of about US$6.8-10.8 billion of dividends from 2007 profits to the Ministry of Finance as part of a new profit-collection program, Shanghai Securities News reported (in Chinese). The ministry will use most of the dividends to support the country's social security fund, said a source familiar with the situation. According to the most conservative estimates, the China's social sucurity fund is running a deficit of about US$270 billion.