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On August 5, the Chinese news agency Xinhua announced that the China Securities Regulatory Commission had issued a draft of regulations that would allow employees of publicly traded compa

China's long-running effort to strengthen state-owned enterprises includes "mixed-ownership reform" intended to change these companies' ownership structures and make them more market-focused.

As of mid-February, 28 of China's 34 provincial regions had announced their plans for the reform of state-owned enterprises. Each provincial region's approach is different, but mixed-ownership reform, which often includes a measure of employee ownership, is prominent among several.

On February 25, China's Xinhua news agency announced 10 steps the government is taking to continue its reform of state-owned enterprises, one of which is to encourage employee stock ownership. As of late last year, China had just over 100 public companies with stock ownership plans.

We continue to get bits and pieces of information about how employee ownership is proceeding in China.

The China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) issued new regulations on June 20 to allow employees to buy shares in listed companies out of their compensation. The shares must be held for 36 months.

China has announced that state-owned enterprises will be allowed to use employee ownership as part of a move to partial privatization of state-owned monopolies. Private investors would be allowed as well, but the state would retain control.

Over the past several years, China has frequently taken steps toward encouraging equity compensation plans, especially among state-owned enterprises.

A November 21 article in China Economic Net examines performance results for the first three quarters of 2016 and found that most public companies with employee stock plans saw an increase in profitability.

The Chinese state-owned company Sinopec has tentative government approval to acquire a controlling interest in Chevron South Africa, currently a subsidiary of U.S.-based Chevron, although the deal is still subject to final approval by the government and a right of first refusal by its current sha