(Yicai Global) Sept. 28 -- Business revenue and total profits at China's central state-owned enterprises increased annually by 15.7 percent and 17.3 percent in January to August this year, respectively, Xiao Yaqing, director of China's State-Owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, said in a press briefing on Sept. 28.

Central SOEs are those enterprises under direct control from the central government and, in general, operate on a larger scale than other state-owned enterprises.

Total assets of central government-owned firms reached CNY50.5 trillion (USD7.57 trillion) at the end of 2016, an increase of 80 percent from five years earlier. Cumulative profits over the past five years reached CNY6.4 trillion (USD960 million), representing a rise of 30.6 percent, Xiao said.

Structural reform among SOEs is now more than 90 percent complete, while restructuring at corporate enterprises belonging to central state-owned enterprises is 92 percent complete. More than two-thirds of central SOEs already have or plan to introduce social capital to promote equity diversification.