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China's 99 industrial SOE profits up 78 pc.

BEIJING: The combined profits of China's state-owned industrial firms soared 77.7 percent last year to 96.7 billion yuan ($11.7 billion), Premier Zhu Rongji said on Sunday.

He told the annual session of the National People's Congress, China's parliament, that the profits of all industrial firms rose 52 percent in 1999 to 220.2 billion yuan. He gave no explanation for the profit surge.

Sheng Huaren, head of the powerful State Economic and Trade Commission, said in January staff cuts and management reforms had lifted profits of state-owned enterprises.

Zhu said the main economic goal of this year would be to turn around most large to medium-sized state owned enterprises.

Two years ago, Zhu announced a three-year timetable to fix the heavily indebted sector.

Zhu said the government would encourage the non-public sector, including private enterprise.

He called for "rapid growth" this year, without giving a target for the expansion of Gross Domestic Product. GDP last year was 7.1 percent and is officially forecast to exceed that figure this year, although no specific number has been given.-Reuters