Reforming China's State-owned Enterprises and Banks

Book excerpt: This book is informative and readable. It will be of interest to anyone wanting to learn about the development of the Chinese economy in general and the reforms of state-owned enterprises in particular. The data and in-depth discussion presented in the book will appeal to academics as well as policymakers. Yin-Fang Zhang, Journal of the Asia Pacific Economy China watchers will welcome a book which provides a detailed insight into the two pillars of that economy: the state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and the state-owned banks (SOBs). This is a scholarly work, rich in detail. Shelagh Heffernan, The Financial Regulator For China to sustain her transformation requires that she tackle reform of her state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and banks. This book comprehensively assesses the scale of the problem, reviews previous reforms and suggested solutions. Finally the authors propose their own reform agenda, sensitive to Chinese realities. Michael Artis, European University Institute, Italy This is an excellent study of the nexus between the effects of party control, the soft budget of state-owned enterprise (SOEs) and the financial fragility of the state-owned banking system (SOBs) in China. It is both sympathetic and knowledgeable about the problems of achieving reform and progress. Beautifully written, it should become the most influential work in this field in the English-speaking world. Charles A.E. Goodhart, London School of Economics, UK This book s starting point is that after two decades of experiments, during which other transition economies have effectively privatised all of their former state enterprises, China is still endeavouring to find a way to reinvent and re-engineer its own state-owned economic establishments. The authors explore these reforms along with the problems of China s state-owned banks, which have long been troubled by the adverse loans of Chinese enterprises and face foreign competition in 2007 under China s WTO commitments. Drawing on wide-ranging case studies of enterprise reform, Becky Chiu and Mervyn Lewis combine their extensive experience to give an authoritative account of China s enterprise and bank reform agenda, involving property rights, improved corporate governance and stimulating enterprise. This book will be of great interest to business economists, academic economists and those following the development of the Chinese economy.