The aggregate profit of 1,003 mainland-listed firms that had announced their 2008 earnings or made profit forecasts plunged 43.56 percent from 2007, according to Tianxiang Investment Consulting Co.

The 83 companies that have released their annual reports posted a combined net profit of 13.8 billion yuan (US$2.02 billion) for 2008, up 14.23 percent from a year before, compared with a growth rate of 161 percent in 2007.

The profit estimates of the other 920 firms totaled 159.8 billion yuan for 2008, down 45.96 percent from 2007.

The combined profits of the 1,003 companies account for about 32.15 percent of that of all listed companies.

In 2007, the total profits of nine biggest blue chip companies by market capitalization, including PetroChina, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Bank of China, Sinopec and China Life constituted 65 percent of the combined profits of all A-share companies.

(China Daily February 25, 2009)