Sinopec marches ahead with reforms

State-run oil giant Sinopec Corp shocked many recently by becoming the first centrally administered State-owned enterprise (SOE) to accept foreign investment under a reform package designed to promote mixed ownership.

In a recent interview with Sina, Sinopec's board chairman Fu Chengyu discussed why his enterprise led the way with such a momentous step and how it intends to increase the value of State assets by reforming its ownership structure.

For starters, Fu indicated that Sinopec had already started work on restructuring plans back in 2011 and successfully reorganized ownership rights to its petroleum units in 2012 and 2013. What's more, some of its units have already been publicly listed for several years.

Fu also mentioned some of Sinopec's recent steps to enlarge its capital. Sinopec offered stakes to the market and received a fair market price. Plus, the new corporate structure that resulted from this sale brought more shareholders on board to help improve management.

With a major step now already taken in China's campaign to reform its centrally owned SOEs, more such enterprises will surely follow suit.