345 'zombie' enterprises to be cleaned up

China will press ahead with merging and revamping State-owned enterprises and plans over the next three years to clean up 345 "zombie" enterprises to unlock their vitality, according to a senior official.

"Last year's SOE reorganizations clearly proved effective, so we will keep putting our efforts into the work this year," Zhang Xiwu, deputy chief of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, said on Friday at a briefing in Beijing on SOE reform.

Zombie enterprises are unprofitable SOEs burdened by debt, mismanagement or overcapacity.