Two machinery SOEs to merge

State-owned China National Erzhong Group Co and China National Machinery Industry Corp will merge and restructure their operations, Xinhua News Agency reported.

The move was approved by the State Council, China's cabinet, on Thursday.

Founded in 1958, Erzhong Group's research center and production base are in Sichuan and Jiangsu provinces. By the end of 2012, the group's total assets reached 25.26 billion yuan ($4.09 billion) and it had more than 13,000 employees.

Machinery Industry Corp, which was set up in 1997, is owner or majority shareholder of 50 subsidiaries, including nine listed companies and more than 140 overseas service organizations, with 100,000 employees globally.