Profits of China's 135 central-administered state-owned enterprises (SOEs) fell 13.5 percent in the first nine months from the same period a year ago, according to the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission.

The profits totaled 551.96 billion yuan (US$81.17 billion) between Jan-Sept. The decline rate was 2.7 percentage points lower than that for the first eight months.

Their business revenue was 8.67 trillion yuan, down 2.9 percent year on year, 1.7 percentage points lower than that for the first eight months.

The enterprises paid taxes of 804.65 billion yuan, up 5.3 percent year on year.

(Xinhua News Agency October 24, 2009)