China's state-owned firms get their 'report card' on corruption
Graft watchdog finds staff at eight SOEs guilty of abusing power and embezzling state assets
PUBLISHED : Wednesday, 17 June, 2015, 12:04am
UPDATED : Wednesday, 17 June, 2015, 12:05am
Keira Lu Huang [email protected]
China's state-owned telecommunications giant China Mobile was among the eight SOEs that were inspected by the nation's top anti-graft agency. Photo: AFP
China's top anti-graft agency released inspection reports on eight state-owned enterprises on Tuesday, in which staff were found guilty of abusing power, misusing state assets and other corrupt practices.
The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection's reports covered five major energy firms, a newly established one, as well as two telecommunications giants.
State-owned firms have come under scrutiny amid President Xi Jinping's corruption crackdown. CCDI head Wang Qishan has vowed to finish inspecting all major SOEs by the end of the year.
Among the reports was one on the newly established State Power Investment Group - the result of a merger this year between State Nuclear Power Technology and China Power Investment.
The report came amid growing concerns over former premier Li Peng's daughter Li Xiaolin, who was a senior executive at China Power Investment.
The junior Li was excluded from the new company's leadership although she had been hotly tipped by industry insiders to head the firm.
The report said the firm's finances had not been soundly managed and that it had "purchased assets at a high price but sold them at a low price". Inspectors found severe problems in the firm's handling of mergers, bids and supplies purchasing.
The inspection team also received complaints against the company's leadership.
The reports on the other SOEs covered the State Grid, China Southern Power Grid, China National Petroleum Corporation, China National Offshore Oil Corporation, China National Machinery Industry Corporation, China Telecommunications and China Mobile.
Former China Southern Power Grid vice-president Qi Dacai had been arrested for alleged bribery, the state prosecutor said.
Meanwhile, China Mobile's cooperation with foreign firms had been identified as running a "high risk of corruption", according to the report on the firm.
Both of the telecoms giants were found to have cliques who worked together to embezzle state assets, the reports said.
In the CNPC report, staff were told to put more effort into eliminating the negative impact of corrupt executives who were earlier taken to task, including former chief Jiang Jiemin.
