China Provinces Eye Sales From $7 Trillion Asset Holdings

President Xi Jinping’s plans to open China’s state-owned enterprises to competition are spurring local officials to consider asset sales that could help rein in provincial and municipal debt.

Businesses controlled by local administrations, which range from hotels to retailers to power generators, had assets of 43.8 trillion yuan ($7 trillion) as of the end of March, according to Ministry of Finance estimates. The southern provinces of Guangdong, which has the biggest regional economy, and Guizhou pledged this year to look at changes in ownership structures for their holdings in coming years.