Note on the definition of "state-owned and state-controlled enterprises"
(29 September 2003)
 
 

Interviews with officials of China's statistical authority during summer 2003 suggested that the definition of "state-owned and state-controlled enterprises," a term introduced by the National Bureau of Statistics in its published statistics in 1998, is narrower than the one presented on page 18 of the book.

The last category of enterprises listed in the definition on page 18 is in practice unlikely to be included. I.e., the term "state-owned and state-controlled enterprises" is unlikely to include "all (other) enterprises or shareholding companies in which the state has a stake, with the economic data counted towards the SOE category in proportion to the state's equity share, where the share of legal persons in paid-in capital is ignored for the purpose of the calculation."

"State-owned and state-controlled enterprises," given the latest information I have available, then comprises:
pre-1998 definition SOEs, i.e.,
            pure SOEs,
            SOE-SOE joint operation enterprises, and
            solely state-owned limited liability companies,
+ all (other) shareholding companies (i.e., limited liability companies and stock companies) in which the state has a controlling share.

State-controlled companies come in two forms. Absolute state control (guoyou juedui konggu) implies that the state holds for more than 50% of total capital (ziben). Relative state control (guoyou xiangdui konggu) implies that although the state holds less than 50% of total capital, (i) the state share is relatively large compared to the shares of other ownership categories, i.e., "relative state control" in its narrow meaning (xiangdui konggu), or (ii) even though one or more other ownership categories have a larger capital share than the state, the state in effect holds the control rights by agreement (xieyi kongzhi). Both forms of state-controlled companies are included in the definition.

The findings of the book for the years since 1998, when the concept of "state-owned and state-controlled enterprises" was introduced by the National Bureau of Statistics in the published statistics, thus, apply to a more limited range of enterprises than originally envisaged. In practice, the difference is likely to be very small since for the state to hold non-controlling stakes in enterprises is a historically new phenomenon. The aggregate of non-controlling state stakes may be equivalent to no more than a lower single-digit percentage of the state's share in "state-owned and state-controlled enterprises."