December 29, China’s centrally administered state-owned enterprises are expected to book RMB 900 billion in combined profits by the end of this year, up from RMB 849 billion registered last year, an official said at a conference in Beijing on Wednesday.

In the past 11 months, combined net profits of the central SOEs rose 3.6% year-on-year, which is 46.5 percentage points lower than last year’s annual growth, according to statistics from the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC).

SASAC deputy director Huang Shuhe said most of the central SOEs had accomplished tasks given by the government and played a key role in promoting China’s steady economic growth this year.

Huang also warned that central SOEs should be better prepared for greater difficulties and challenges ahead amid complicated global economic conditions.