The Chinese government has drawn up plans to restructure and streamline several state-owned enterprises by the end of 2018. The concerned assets may include the country's largest refiner Sinopec Group along with two large power groups, namely China Huaneng and China Huadian, which would have to implement debt-reduction plans and submit them to the State Asset Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC).
Besides, the government intends to cut debt to asset ratios in the 96 companies it controls by an average of 2% by 2020. Even though it is promoting the concentration of state-held capital in its major strategic industries, the government is also mulling over the introduction of private capital in several state-run assets.
The coal sector will also undergo a new reform phase and a special fund could be set up to optimize and integrate government-owned coal assets. Earlier in January 2018, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) announced plans to set up super-large coal mining companies by the end of 2020 through mergers in order to streamline and modernize the sector.