Determinants of the profitability of China's regional SOEs

This paper examines the determinants of the profitability of China's local state enterprises. The investment share of non-state enterprises is found to be positively related to the profitability of regional SOEs. Openness measured by exports share in GDP is positively related to regional SOEs' profitability in all cross-sectional and most panel regressions. Debt ratio is negatively related to SOEs' profitability in most cross-sectional and panel regressions. The ratio of unhealthy assets to total assets is negatively related to the profitability in all cross-sectional regressions and is negatively but insignificantly related to the profitability in most panel regressions.