According to data released by the Ministry of Finance, from January to March, the profits of state-owned enterprises across the country totaled 217.7 billion yuan, down 36.8% year-on-year, but the decline rate was 6.9 percentage points lower than that in January-February; the first quarter and the fourth quarter of last year increased by 1.2 times from the previous quarter, in March. This was an increase of 95.9% from the previous month in February. Among the key industries concerned, from January to March, the profitability of the petrochemical and construction real estate industries increased; the profits of the coal and tobacco industries were relatively stable; the decline in the machinery and automobile industries slowed down. 116 of the central management companies and central government-affiliated enterprises included in the express coverage achieved profitability, with a total profit of 205.3 billion yuan and a profit of 65.5%.

As the main body of economic operation, corporate profit data can best reflect the economic trajectory. As of yesterday (27th), 1013 listed companies in the Shanghai and Shenzhen Stock Exchanges that have announced quarterly reports have achieved a total net profit of 67.23 billion yuan, which has reversed the continuous decline in net profit. At the same time, data released by the Ministry of Finance and the State Assets Supervision and Administration Commission show that the net profit of state-owned enterprises also showed good signs of recovery.

Li Rongrong, director of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council, said at the Boao Forum for Asia recently that in March this year, the business indicators of the central enterprises had apparently rebounded, with profits up 26% year-on-year and 86% month-on-month. According to him, in March, the operating income of central enterprises fell by 5.4% year-on-year, but rose by 25% from the previous month. He said that the "winter" measures taken by the Chinese government to deal with the financial crisis have been responded to.

As of April 27, 1,421 listed companies had disclosed the 2008 annual report, total net profit of 766.6 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 15.88%. The quarter-on-quarter and year-on-year decrease show that the series of economic stimulus policies issued by the state has achieved initial success.