More than 20 centrally administered state-owned enterprises (SOEs), whose core business is not property, will fully exit the real estate business this year.

Shao Ning, deputy chairman of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council (SASAC), the SOEs regulator, said Tuesday.

Fourteen SOEs exited the real estate sector last year, Shao told a press conference.

He said some companies need time to finish ongoing projects before they could fully retreat from the real estate business and focus on their core operations.

To curb asset bubbles, the SASAC banned 78 SOEs from investing in property in March last year as property was not their core business.

Shao also said the SASAC would make public the income of the SOEs' executives when necessary.

Currently, China has 121 centrally administered state-owned enterprises with their total assets worth nearly 24 trillion yuan (3.65 trillion U.S. dollars).