A recent series of personnel shake-ups have aroused speculation about reshuffle of China's centrally-administered State-owned enterprises (SOEs).

More than 30 central enterprises should have been regrouped in 2010, which would have reduced the number of king-sized enterprise conglomerates to fewer than 100, according to a restructuring plan worked out by State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC) several years ago. However, only seven central enterprises were rearranged last year.

The former head of the China National Offshore Oil Corporation, Fu Chengyu, moved from one leading national oil company to another after being appointed chairman of China Petrochemical Corporation in April. The offshore corporation’s vice president, Wang Yilin, will fill Fu’s post.

In May, Sinosteel Corporation, one of China's largest iron ore traders, appointed Jia Baojun as its new president, replacing Huang Tianwen.

Chang Xiaobing will be internally promoted to chairman of China Telecom, and Wang Xiaochu, the current chairman, will be appointed governor of Yunnan Province, according to news microblogs. There is also talk that China Mobile’s chairman, Wang Jianzhou, will be retiring.

The SOE compression could improve business values and competition among the central enterprises.

The restructuring of China’s SOEs will be more focused on the integration of industry chain, said Zhu Boshan, general manager of Shanghai Tacter Consulting.

China Reform Holdings Corporation Ltd, a capital-operating company backed by SASAC, was founded at the end of last year to fuel the integration of China's SOEs. It will also pave the way for a listing of the central enterprises.

The commission said the new company will acquire and restructure small-scale SOEs that have a low market share and aren’t involved in crucial industries. SASAC will focus on re-organizing large central enterprises to improve their competitiveness in the global market.

一系列密集的人事變動引發了業內對央企重組的猜測。

幾年前，國資委就提出，到2010年央企數量將減少至100家以下，其中2010年就會有30多家央企被重組。但2010年，僅7家央企完成重組或者合并。

4月初，中海油總公司“掌門人”傅成玉接替蘇樹林任中石化集團“一哥”，而現任中石油集團副總經理王宜林調任中海油接替傅成玉。

5月16日，國資委宣布免去黃天文的中鋼集團總經理兼黨委副書記職務。

近日，微博上有消息稱，中國移動董事長王建宙將退休，中國聯通董事長常小兵將轉任中國電信董事長，而中國電信董事長王曉初將轉任云南省省長。

目前央企重組更為關注的是，重組前后能否帶來企業價值和競爭力的提升。

上海天強顧問管理公司總經理祝波善預測，“今后的重組將更看重產業鏈整合的效果。”

早在去年底，“中國國新控股有限責任公司”正式掛牌，為央企改革重組搭建平臺，并為央企整體上市鋪路。

國資委表示，打算劃入國新公司的企業，多數都是不屬于關系國家安全和國民經濟命脈的重要行業或是關鍵領域，且規模較小、實力較弱的企業。通過國新公司對中小央企的收編，國資委將可以更加放手地重組資產優良的大型央企，讓其更具競爭力。