
BEIJING, Dec. 25 -- Profit declines for China's state-owned enterprises (SOEs) continued but narrowed in November, the Ministry of Finance (MOF) said Friday.
China's non-financial SOEs raked in 2 trillion yuan (309.1 billion U.S. dollars) in profits from January to November, down 9.5 percent year on year, compared with a 9.8-percent drop for the first 10 months, said an MOF statement.
This was the first improvement in SOE profitability in the latter half of 2015, although difficulties remained as the Chinese economy is still struggling to find solid footing.
However, profit declines for SOEs administered by local governments fell increasingly steep.
These SOEs made 577.4 billion yuan (89.2 billion U.S. dollars) in profits in the first 11 months, down 7.3 percent, compared with drops of 6 percent for January-October, 2.7 percent for January-September and 1 percent for January-August.
Profitability in sectors including transportation, chemistry and electricity improved substantially in the first 11 months, while petroleum and construction material businesses suffered sharp profit drops.
Steel, coal and non-ferrous industries continued to see losses.
"China's SOEs operated stably and showed signs of improvement, but downward pressure was still considerable," said the MOF statement.
Are these the world’s scariest landing strips?
In pics: Left behind children in China
Eight modern day engineering marvels of China
Chinese beauty with sexiest bottom
Charming female bodybuilders of Chengdu University
Polish sports stars strip off for risqué calendar
Spectacular aerial photos of the Three Gorges
Contestants of Mrs. Globe pose for photo in Shenzhen
Bikini models attend hot pot banquet in Hefei
Top 20 hottest women in the world in 2014
Top 10 hardest languages to learn
10 Chinese female stars with most beautiful faces
China’s Top 10 Unique Bridges, Highways and Roads
Give a dam
Surrogate farmers
Are you naughty or nice
A look at the major online trends for China in 2015Day|Week