Alter SOEs' posting system to curb graft

Updated: 2014-11-25 07:38

By Xin Zhiming(China Daily)

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China's high-profile anti-corruption investigations targeted at State-owned enterprises (SOEs) are set to cleanse the commercial giants. But to prevent corruption in those enterprises in the long term, a sounder modern corporate governance regime must be put in place.

The anti-corruption authorities have said they will start a new round of "inspections" in some central ministries and major SOEs. Previous inspections have led to investigations and arrests of a number of senior corporate executives. The list of high-ranking executives of major SOEs in sectors ranging from oil, steel, power and telecommunications to aviation and transportation who have been detained or arrested since 2012 is long.

The latest announcement by the anti-corruption authorities shows that the country's self-purification drive will continue and, apart from government officials, senior managers of SOEs have become the new target of the drive. This reflects the authorities' resolve to root out corruption across the board. Also, it is a response to the public call to solve problems, from unchecked spending to insider control of corporate interests, in some major SOEs.

China's major SOEs suffered severe losses in the 1990s, but thanks to generous capital injection from the State and forceful corporate reforms, many of them have overcome the difficulties and expanded rapidly since the beginning of this century. Several of them have become influential players in the global arena.

But the success has been accompanied by scandals involving waste of corporate funds or dubious business deals that benefited corporate managers but jeopardized the interest of the State. The corruption cases exposed recently have triggered public anger and prompted the authorities to dig deeper into the muddy waters. The latest investigations are set to identify more corrupt senior executives of SOEs and help cleanse China's business environment.

However, policymakers need to conduct a serious soul-searching to figure out why there is so much corruption in the corporate sector and what systematic measures they can take to root it out.

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