Head of China’s biggest state firm in Hong Kong urges Beijing to deepen market reforms
- Fu Yuning, chairman of China Resources Group, says competition is necessary for state enterprises to reform themselves and emerge stronger on the global stage
The head of China’s largest and oldest state-owned company in Hong Kong has recommended that the government should let competitive forces play a bigger role in certain market-oriented industries.
The government should continue to dominate industries monopolised by state entities, such as power distribution and transmission, whereas industries that are already populated by private enterprises or quasi-state companies should be allowed to compete.
“Let the fittest survive,” said Fu Yuning, chairman of China Resources Group, a conglomerate with its earliest presence in Hong Kong tracing back to 1938 and owning US$160 billion in assets.
He was speaking at an event on Tuesday organised by Our Hong Kong Foundation, a think tank set up in 2014 by former chief executive Tung Chee-hwa.
Fu’s comment comes at a critical juncture in China’s economic reforms, when state enterprises and private businesses are locked in a collective soul-searching to stake a claim in the world’s second largest economy. At stake are government resources, access to crucial financing, market access, technology and regulatory barriers.
Fu said the central government has changed its attitude towards uncompetitive state firms and will no longer save those losing out to private players or foreign rivals.