SOEs' profit growth slows

Profit growth of China's State-owned enterprises (SOEs) slowed in the first nine months of 2014, adding to signs of fragility in the country's economy as factories struggle to cope with falling prices as well as sluggish demand.

State-owned non-financial companies made combined profits of 1.85 trillion yuan ($302.38 billion) between January and September, up 5.9 percent from the first nine months of 2013, the Ministry of Finance said on Thursday.

That slowed from a rise of 8 percent in year-on-year profits in the January-August period. The increase was also below the 10.5 percent rise seen in the January-September period of 2013.