China's 6.9 trillion yuan makeover of state-owned enterprises attracts sceptics

Shanghai

TO GRASP the scale of the challenges facing Chinese leaders in revamping their sprawling and inefficient state-owned enterprises (SOEs), consider this: the combined revenue of 100-plus government-owned firms, spanning from train makers to banks and power companies, rivals Japan's entire US$4.1 trillion economy.

China's SOE sector, traditionally a source of political patronage and economic po…