CHINA

Plan for Dismantling Failed State Companies Announced: The government said it is determined to make its worst money-losing state enterprises swallow the bitter pill of bankruptcy this year after many faltering attempts. Beijing has already selected two unredeemable firms in the northern port of Tianjin and three in the Yangtze River city Chongqing for dismantling this year, said an official of the State Economic and Trade Commission. Bankruptcy is part of a broad state-sector reform plan. The plan includes the first meaningful audits of 10,000 failed firms, dispatch of supervisory watchdogs to 1,000 ill-managed firms and management of 100 promising firms under the rigorous dictates of a new Western-modeled company law. Hemorrhaging firms in April made up 50.9% of China’s more than 100,000 state enterprises.