China's centrally administrated large state-owned enterprises (SOEs) raked in rising revenues in the third quarter amid a brisker rebound of the economy, official data showed on Tuesday.

Revenues of the central SOEs grew 1.5 percent year-on-year to 7.8 trillion yuan ($1.17 trillion) in the third quarter. In the first three quarters of the year, cumulative revenues of central SOEs were down 4.6 percent year-on-year to 21.1 trillion yuan, Peng Huagang, a spokesman for the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council (SASAC), told a news conference. 

This compares with a steep contraction of 7.8 percent in the first half year and a decline of 11.8 percent in the first quarter, when the economy was hit hard by the COVID-19 outbreak.

In September alone, the large SOEs saw their revenues expand 4.3 percent from a year earlier to 2.8 trillion yuan, rising for the second month in a row. September's gain was also the best for the year. 

Centrally administered enterprises in the sectors of machinery, mining, power generation and architecture reported a 10-percent  plus rise in revenues last month, per SASAC data.

Net profits at central SOEs soared 34.5 percent year-on-year to 474.8 billion yuan in the third quarter, while net profits for September hit 204.63 billion yuan, the highest on record for the same month.

Judging by the numbers for the first three quarters, the vast majority of central SOEs have posted a continued improvement in production and operations as well as a rapid rebound in economic benefits, largely reversing the difficult situation they confronted in the first half and laying the groundwork for full-year targets to be achieved, Peng said.

The SASAC pledged to deepen reforms of state investment and SOEs, push for increased management efficacy and strengthened risk-hedging capacities at central SOEs, and strive for central SOEs to achieve growth in overall earnings. 

Tuesday's data came as the economy is gaining stream despite the still-raging pandemic outside of China. 

The economy's recovery accelerated in the third quarter with a 4.9-percent expansion, official data showed. 

"The data was a good reminder that the Chinese economy is the only major economy that will squeak out a gain for 2020," David Chao, global market strategist for the Asia-Pacific region ex-Japan at Invesco, told a webinar on Tuesday.

The strategist also expressed his optimism that "2021 will be a strong year for China and Asia's export-led economies," citing driving factors, including the 5G upgrade cycle.

Global Times