The annual reports of 208 listed State-owned enterprises reveal the salaries of 192 enterprise heads but how are these decided, asks an article in China Business News (excerpts below).

The identity of senior executives is a key factor influencing the public attitudes toward their income. Are they government officials appointed by the authorities or professional managers?

The Chinese government should classify the chiefs of SOEs into different categories, such as public-welfare enterprises and market-based enterprises. For the former enterprises, the top executives can be paid according to the pay scale of the civil service. For the latter, they should be selected through competition and paid according to their performance.