China''s State-owned enterprises (SOEs) affiliated to the central government raised funds totaling 6.77 billion HK dollars on the Hong Kong stock market in the first six months of the year, said a senior official in Beijing on Tuesday.

Li Rongrong, director of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC), told a meeting attended by central SOE officials that 152 of the 187 listed companies controlled by central SOEs (81.3 percent) have begun or completed the split share structure reform.

The reform, which started in April 2005, aims to make all shares of listed companies tradable on the market.

Li revealed that, by the end of June, of the total 837 state controlled listed companies in China, 735 (87.8 percent) had begun or completed the split share structure reform.

He said that listing a large number of SOEs at home and abroad had led to a remarkable improvement in their management mechanisms.

SASAC, an authority established by the State Council in 2003 to supervise the preservation and enhancement of the value of State-owned assets, acts as an investor and guide for the SOEs. - Xinhua News