2019 Government Work Report: What the experts say

SOE reform

A State Grid employee works on an ultra-high-voltage transmitter in Huainan, Anhui province. [Photo by Song Weixing/For China Daily]

Hiring professional managers was written in the report for the first time, intended to improve corporate governance structures.

Li Jin, an expert on State-owned enterprise reform, told Securities Times the move shows corporate governance structures entering deep reform. Li added the difficulty in establishing a professional manager mechanism in SOEs is resolving identity-switching, positioning of management staff in these enterprises and ensuring long-running operations.

Meanwhile, Li expected mixed-ownership reform in SOEs to evolve into larger and deeper areas, where emphasis is moving to "reform" from "mixed-ownership", bringing dividends into capital markets.