A pilot regional reform plan for state-owned enterprises (SOEs) in Shenzhen, South China's Guangdong Province has been approved, in a bid to cultivate more world-class companies with global competitiveness, including a couple of top 500 enterprises, media reports said.

Shenzhen will foster a number of large SOEs, and strive to cultivate one or two of the world's top 500 enterprises, six to seven enterprises with assets exceeding 100 billion yuan ($14 billion), and two giant enterprise groups with market value exceeding 100 billion yuan, the China Securities Journal reported on Wednesday.

The city plans to encourage more than 85 percent of state capital to be concentrated in major areas of infrastructure and public utilities, and in certain areas of finance and strategic emerging industries, the report said.

On Sunday, China unveiled a document that aims to build Shenzhen into a pilot demonstration area for socialism with Chinese characteristics.

State capital-related shares soared in Wednesday's trading, such as Shenzhen Seg Co, which rose by the daily 10 percent limit to 6.19 yuan, and Shenzhen Tagen Group, which closed at 6 yuan, up 5.82 percent.

Feng Liguo, a research fellow at China Minsheng Bank's research center, told the Global Times that SOEs in Shenzhen possess relatively higher marketization levels than those in other regions in China.

Reform of SOEs in Shenzhen will yield quicker results, Feng said.

The Shenzhen Science and Technology Innovation Committee is studying how to accelerate the implementation of innovation-driven development strategy, stcn.com reported on Wednesday.

The main task of the committee is to set up a comprehensive development plan for the Shenzhen-Hong Kong science and technology innovation cooperation zone, the report said.


Newspaper headline: Booming city announces reform plans for SOEs