China's 3 oil giants

Net profits of China's three oil giants accounted for 31.74 percent of SOEs' total net profits made in 2010, according to a report released on Friday by the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC) of the State Council, the nation's cabinet. Net profits of all state-owned enterprises, or SOEs, last year climbed 42.8 percent from a year earlier to 852.27 billion yuan (133.56 billion U.S. dollars), the SASAC said in the report. Three oil giants, China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), Sinopec Group and China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC), achieved total net profits of 270.54 billion yuan in 2010, up 47 percent from a year earlier. Profits of the three companies boosted as they had stepped up oil and gas production and actively explored overseas markets. Meanwhile, surging oil prices in 2010 had also promoted their profitability.