Li Rongrong
Wang Yong
BEIJING - Li Rongrong, who stepped down as head of China's State-owned assets watchdog earlier this week, has already received plaudits for being a major instigator of reform.
But his unfinished work of restructuring the country's State-owned enterprises (SOE) will continue to be a challenge for his successor.
The 66-year-old chief of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council (SASAC) will be replaced by Wang Yong, former head of the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine.
Li has been widely recognized for successfully optimizing the operations and improving the profitability of the country's large SOEs during his seven years at SASAC.Under his leadership, the number of SOEs shrank to the current 125 through major consolidations, and larger firms acquiring smaller and unprofitable ones. Chinese enterprises are also rising globally as 30 central SOEs are included in the Fortune 500 list of top global companies.
Li was also the main initiator of the regulator's plan to establish a new firm called Guoxin Asset Management Co Ltd, focusing on consolidating SOEs and turning small and unprofitable SOEs into profitable companies.
Nicknamed the second China Investment Corporation, the new firm will have a registered capital of 20 billion yuan ($2.95 billion) and is expected to improve SOEs' operations by spinning off their non-performing assets once it is established.
Although rumors about Li's retirement have been circulating for some time, the news still came as a surprise as his departure preceded the establishment of the new asset management firm.
Sources close to SASAC said the personnel change would not change the overall direction of the regulator's comprehensive reform of SOEs.
But challenges remain for Li's successor as the new asset firm has yet to be established and the regulator has not achieved the goal of bringing down the number of SOEs to 100 this year.
Zhi Shuping
Li's successor, the 55-year-old Wang, is expected to take over his unfinished work. Wang had previously served as the deputy chief of the SASAC and gained extensive experience in running an SOE while working as a senior executive of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation.Wang's return is expected to accelerate the SASAC's personnel reform as he was a key promoter of the country's campaign to recruit foreign managers for SOEs.
SASAC is a powerful agency that acts as both the main shareholder and the regulator of 125 SOEs, which range from PetroChina, China's top oil and gas producer, to China Mobile, the world's biggest mobile carrier.
Zhi Shuping, formerly Wang's deputy, will succeed him.
