Hi everyone. I’m Stephanie LI.

大家好，我是主持人李莹亮。

Coming up on today’s program.

重点提要

• Profits of central SOEs have increased from 1.3 trillion yuan to 2.6 trillion yuan in 10 years;

• PBOC spells out financial supportive measures for Qianhai and Hengqin.

Here’s what you need to know about China in the past 24 hours 

中国经济要闻

China's State-owned enterprises, the country's economic backbone, have made significant progress in the past decade, with historic breakthroughs achieved in key areas to boost economic development.

"The quality and efficiency of centrally administered SOEs have improved comprehensively, and their vitality and competitiveness have been enhanced across the board," Zhang Yuzhuo, chairman of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council, told a press conference on Thursday.

Combined profits of central SOEs have increased from 1.3 trillion yuan ($188.3 billion) to 2.6 trillion yuan over the past ten years. According to the press conference, taxes and fees paid by the central SOEs accounted for about one-seventh of the country's total tax revenues.

The total assets of central SOEs amounted to 81 trillion yuan at the end of 2022 from 31.4 trillion yuan in 2012. Their operating revenues rose from 22.3 trillion yuan to 39.6 trillion yuan during the period. 

Meanwhile, the strength of scientific and technological innovation of central SOEs has improved significantly with the overall layout and structure optimized.

The past ten years have seen research and development spending of central SOEs total about 6.2 trillion yuan, with an average annual growth rate of over 10.5 percent. Some 764 national research and development platforms and 91 national key laboratories have been built.

Zhang said the commission will encourage SOEs to increase scientific and technological investment in key areas such as semiconductors or integrated circuits and industrial mother machines. It also vowed to push for new breakthroughs in improving the efficiency of scientific and technological research and development input and output.  

China’s SOEs have undertaken more than 200 major overseas infrastructure projects such as ports, railways, and airports over the past 10 years including the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway and the China-Laos railway, as well as a couple of overseas communication and energy projects, Zhang added.

2月23日，国务院新闻办举行“权威部门话开局”系列主题新闻发布会第二场发布会，介绍全面推进中央企业高质量发展的有关情况。

会上表示，新时代十年，国资央企发生了根本性、转折性、全局性的重大变化，政治面貌、精神面貌、改革发展面貌焕然一新，为我国如期全面建成小康社会、实现第一个百年奋斗目标、迈上全面建设社会主义现代化国家新征程作出了重要贡献。

十年来，中央企业质量效益全面提升。资产总额从31.4万亿元增长到81万亿元，利润总额从1.3万亿元增长至2.6万亿元；营业收入利润率为6.8%、提高1.8个百分点，全员劳动生产率为76.3万元/人、增长84.2%；10年来上缴税费约占全国税收收入的七分之一，向社保基金划转国有资本1.21万亿元。

活力竞争力全面增强。集团层面建立董事会的比例从44%提高到97%，符合条件的子企业实现董事会应建尽建；央企控股上市公司从368家增加到453家；“三供一业”基本完成分离移交，退休人员基本实现社会化管理。

科技创新实力全面提高。累计研发经费投入约6.2万亿元，年均增速超过10.5%，研发投入强度从1.74%提升到2.54%；建成764个国家级研发平台、91个全国重点实验室；截至2022年底拥有科技人才104.5万人、两院院士231人；累计获国家科技进步奖和技术发明奖814项，占全国同类奖项36.1%。

布局结构全面优化。27组49家中央企业实施战略性重组和专业化整合，新组建、接收企业13家，中央企业数量从116家调整至98家；淘汰1644万吨钢铁、1.19亿吨煤炭过剩产能，完成2041户“僵尸企业”处置和特困企业治理任务；在涉及国家安全、国民经济命脉和国计民生领域比重超过70%，近年来战略性新兴产业年均投资增速超过20%。

责任担当全面彰显。聚焦服务国家战略推进央地合作，累计与地方签署战略合作项目4478个。高质量共建“一带一路”，中央企业海外资产近8万亿元，分布在180多个国家和地区，项目超过8000个；服务国家宏观调控安排，保持煤电油气等价格和供应稳定，加强通信、铁路、航空等基础网络运营管理；在一系列重大自然灾害和突发事件面前不讲条件、不计代价，切实保护人民生命财产安全。

• The Philippines has officially approved the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) trade agreement on Tuesday, paving the way for ratifying the world's largest free trade area. The trade pact will enter into force 60 days after a member officially deposits the instruments of ratification, acceptance or approval to the ASEAN Secretariat, the agreement's depositary.

  菲律宾国会参议院正式批准RCEP：当地时间21日，菲律宾国会参议院正式批准RCEP核准书，为菲律宾加入RCEP扫清国内最后一道障碍。据悉，随后，菲律宾将向东南亚国家联盟秘书处提交核准书。RCEP将在核准书提交60天后正式对菲律宾生效。

• Amid the restoration of international travel in the post-epidemic era, closer cooperation in tourism can be expected between China and Thailand, Thai government officials said on Wednesday, predicting that the number of Chinese tourists to Thailand may reach seven million in 2023, a recovery to around 64 percent of the pre-epidemic level in 2019.

  泰国预计今年接待500万-700万中国旅客：2月22日，泰国国家旅游局与中国旅游集团旅行服务有限公司签署旅游领域合作意向书。签约仪式上，泰国国家旅游局局长育塔萨接受媒体采访时表示，泰国国家旅游局原本预估今年将有2000万外国游客前往泰国。当中国政府宣布恢复出入境政策后，泰旅局在预期的基础上上调了500万-700万，而这部分游客来自中国。据了解，2019年，一共有超过1100万的中国游客前往泰国。

Greater Bay Area, Greater future

新使命，大未来

• Four top financial regulators including the PBOC and the Guangdong provincial government jointly issued two separate documents detailing 30 financial supportive measures for the Qianhai and Hengqian cooperation zones on Thursday, covering areas of livelihood, financial markets connectivity, cross-border trade and investment, and regulation cooperation. 

  According to the documents, qualified non-bank payment institutions in Qianhai will be allowed to conduct cross-border payment businesses. Financial institutions from overseas, especially those from Hong Kong, are allowed to set up commercial banks, wealth management subsidiaries, consumer finance companies and pension management companies in Qianhai Cooperation Zone. The authorities will also support the establishment of financial holding companies to be set up in Qianhai.  

  In order to integrate financial services between Hengqin and Macao, cross-border financial management system and electronic payment system will be basically established in the cooperation zone by 2025, per the documents, and pilot schemes to facilitate cross-border capital flow, investment, financing, as well as the opening up of financial industry will also be supported.

• 横琴、前海“金融大礼包”发布：2月23日，人民银行会同银保监会、证监会、外汇局、广东省人民政府联合印发《关于金融支持横琴粤澳深度合作区建设的意见》和《关于金融支持前海深港现代服务业合作区全面深化改革开放的意见》，各提出三十条金融改革创新举措，涵盖民生金融、金融市场互联互通、现代金融产业发展、促进跨境贸易和投融资便利化、加强金融监管合作等方面。《关于金融支持前海深港现代服务业合作区全面深化改革开放的意见》提到，允许前海合作区内符合条件的非银行支付机构开展跨境支付业务。允许境外特别是香港地区金融机构在前海合作区设立商业银行、理财子公司、消费金融公司、养老金管理公司。支持符合金融控股公司设立情形、条件成熟的企业集团在前海合作区设立金融控股公司。支持前海合作区内符合条件的机构接入人民币跨境支付系统（CIPS），促进人民币跨境支付系统拓展粤港澳大湾区业务。在前海合作区稳步开展本外币合一银行结算账户体系试点，为市场主体提供优质、安全、高效的银行账户服务。《关于金融支持横琴粤澳深度合作区建设的意见》提到，到2025年，电子围网系统和跨境金融管理体系基本建立，合作区与澳门金融服务一体化初步实现，便利澳门居民生活就业的金融环境初步形成，助力澳门经济适度多元的现代金融产业集聚发展，在跨境资金流动自由便利、投融资汇兑便利化、金融业对外开放等方面先行先试。

Next on industry and company news

产业及公司新闻

• Chinese internet and gaming giant Tencent Holdings is reportedly considering selling Meta’s Quest virtual reality products in China. Tencent has been planning to become an agent for the Quest product series in China since last year, but the company’s senior executives have not yet agreed on whether to proceed with the cooperation with Meta, media reported yesterday, citing a source close to Tencent. Meta’s Quest 2 sells from USD399.99 on its official website.

  腾讯或独家代理Meta旗下VR产品：2月22日，有报道称腾讯控股正在与脸书母公司Meta Platforms Inc就在中国销售Meta Quest系列虚拟现实头显进行谈判。消息人士称，腾讯与Meta之间的谈判从去年开始，最近几个月一直在继续，并说谈判仍处于初期阶段，细节尚未达成一致。一位接近腾讯人士表示，从去年开始，腾讯就有计划代理Meta Quest系列，但公司高管对此仍有争议，未敲定是否达成合作。

• SAIC-GM has dismissed a rumor that the joint venture of Chinese carmaker SAIC Motors and General Motors of the US is planning to lay off staff aged 45 and over due to shrinking sales. “The online rumor is untrue and has seriously damaged SAIC-GM’s reputation”, the automaker said in a press release late yesterday.

  上海通用否认大裁员：近日，网传上汽通用汽车有限公司内部筹备大裁员，计划买断45岁以上员工工龄。对此，2月22日，上汽通用发布声明称，公司不存在买断45岁以上员工工龄或其他裁员计划，上述网络传言的内容纯属谣言。该谣言造成的负面影响，已扰乱公司正常的生产经营秩序，严重损害了公司的商业信誉。

Earnings reports express

财报速递

• China's internet and gaming giant NetEase said Thursday its net profit fell 31 percent on year to 3.95 billion yuan in the fourth quarter, despite revenue rose 4 percent to 25.35 billion yuan in the period. For the entire year, revenue came in at 96.5 billion yuan, as opposed to 87.6 billion yuan in 2021, while total net profit rose 3.5 billion yuan to 20.3 billion yuan. NetEase Chief Executive William Ding said the firm experienced solid growth in 2022, as a result of the ongoing popularity of its leading games and the expansion of products and services. The internet giant invested 15 billion yuan, or 15.6 percent of its annual income, in R&D last year, it said.

  网易去年营收965亿元：2月23日，网易发布了截至12月31日的2022年第四季度及全年财报。财报显示，网易第四季度净营收为253.541亿元，同比增长4%。归属于网易公司股东的净利润为39.527亿元。2022全年净营收为964.958亿元，而2021年为876.060亿元。归属于网易公司股东的净利润为203.376亿元，而2021年为168.568亿元。全年研发投入超过150亿元，占比营收15.6%，研发强度保持行业领先。“2022年我们的业绩实现了稳健增长。第四季度，我们的总体净收入达人民币254亿元，这主要得益于经典游戏的长盛不衰，以及产品和服务品类的拓展，”网易公司首席执行官兼董事丁磊说。

• Baidu announced late Wednesday a US$5 billion share buyback after reporting better-than-expected revenue. The AI giant saw its net profit for 2022 increase by 10 percent year-on-year to 20.68 billion yuan, while revenue for the year totaled 123.7 billion yuan. This can be attributed to the strong performance of the company's advertising, cloud, and artificial intelligence divisions, which caused a 7 percent increase in its US-listed shares during premarket trading. Meanwhile, founder and CEO Robin Li said that Baidu is embedding Ernie Bot with its flagship search engine services and other major businesses in March.

  百度去年净利增长10%：2月22日，百度发布了截至2022年12月31日的第四季度及全年未经审计的财务报告。2022年，百度实现营收1236.75亿元，归属百度的净利润（非美国通用会计准则）206.8亿元，同比增长10%。第四季度，百度实现营收330.77亿元，归属百度的净利润（非美国通用会计准则）53.71亿元，同比增长32%。2022财年，百度核心连续四个季度业绩超市场预期，百度董事会已授权了一份总值50亿美元的股票回购计划，有效期持续至2025年12月31日。此外，在发给百度全员的财报信中，创始人、董事长兼首席执行官李彦宏还宣布计划将多项主流业务与文心一言整合。

• Hong Kong's stock exchange last year saw the fewest new listings in more than a decade, the bourse said Thursday. HKEX reported 90 initial public offerings during 2022, raking in HK$104.6 billion, a fall of almost 70 percent from the previous year despite IPOs picked up momentum in the second half. The exchange also saw annual profits plunge 20 percent to HK$10.1 billion, the first drop since 2016, despite profits in the fourth quarter rose 11 percent to HK$2.98 billion and quarterly revenue was up 7 percent. 

  港交所全年净利超100亿港元：2月23日，香港交易所公布2022年全年业绩。2022年全年，港交所实现营业收入为183.74亿港元，同比减少9%；实现净利润为100.78亿港元，同比减少20%，市场预期为98.5亿港元。数据显示，2022年第四季度港交所总收入为52.01亿港元，较2021年第四季度增长10%，创下历年第四季度业绩新高。港交所行政总裁欧冠升指出，香港新股市场于2022年下半年回暖，2022年全年共有90家新公司成功于港交所上市。 

Switching gears to financial news

金融市场消息

• Overseas institutions trimmed their holdings of Chinese bonds by 106.6 billion yuan in January, the largest cut since March last year. More than half of the Chinese bonds foreign investors sold were treasury bonds, as they reduced their holdings of such bonds by as much as 66.3 billion yuan, according to the latest data.

  外资1月抛售境内债超千亿：最新数据显示，1月，境外机构主要券种托管规模环比减少1066亿元（上月增加571亿元），录得自2022年3月以来的最大降幅，继上月增持后再度转为减持，主要减持的品种为利率债（国债-663亿元）。 

• Mergers and acquisitions slowed dramatically in China and worldwide in 2022 amid economic headwinds and pandemic disruptions, management consultant Bain & Co. said in a report on Wednesday. The value of strategic deals completed in China declined 34 percent in 2022 from the previous year to $304 billion, the lowest in nine years, according to the report. The number of such deals also touched a nine-year low with a 24 percent decline from 2021, Bain said.

  2022年并购交易规模下降：2月22日，咨询公司贝恩发布的《2023年全球及中国并购市场报告》显示，全球战略并购市场进入盘整阶段，中国市场与全球趋势一致，2022年战略交易金额为3040亿美元，同比下降34%，交易数量也同比下降24%，无论交易金额还是数量，都出现九年来的历史新低。

Wrapping up with a quick look at the stock market

股市收盘情况

• Chinese stocks fell on Thursday with the benchmark Shanghai Composite and the Shenzhen Component each dipped 0.1 percent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index also finished 0.4 percent lower, while the TECH index gained 1.2 percent. 

  A股震荡港股微跌：周四A股全天震荡走势，尾盘探底回升，创业板指翻红，沪指及深证指数跌幅收窄。截止收盘，沪指跌0.11%，深成指跌0.13%，创业板指涨0.23%，两市全天共成交8000亿元。港股冲高回落，恒指收跌0.35%，恒生科技指数涨1.18%。

Biz Word of the Day

财经词汇划重点

• The term financial holding company (FHC) refers to a type of bank holding company (BHC) that offers a range of non-banking financial services. BHCs can engage in non-banking financial activities if they register as FHCs. These activities, which are not permissible for ordinary bank holding companies include insurance underwriting, securities dealing, merchant banking, underwriting initial public offerings (IPOs), and investment advisory services.

  金融控股公司是指对两个或两个以上不同类型金融机构拥有实质控制权，自身仅开展股权投资管理、不直接从事商业性经营活动的有限责任公司或者股份有限公司。金融控股公司是专门从事金融机构股权投资和管理的企业，不得从事非金融业务。

Executive Editor: Sonia YU

Editor: LI Yanxia

Host: Stephanie LI

Writer: Stephanie LI 

Sound Editor: Stephanie LI

Graphic Designer: ZHENG Wenjing, LIAO Yuanni

Produced by 21st Century Business Herald Dept. of Overseas News.

Presented by SFC

编委:  于晓娜

策划、编辑：李艳霞 

播音：李莹亮

撰稿：李莹亮

音频制作：李莹亮

设计：郑文静、廖苑妮

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