Wake up“Sleeping” assets
2024-09-18
The resources of state-owned assets are hard won and are the common wealth of the whole nation. Revitalizing idle assets is an important measure to implement the spirit of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, fully, accurately, and comprehensively implement the new development concept, and promote high-quality economic and social development. Effectively revitalizing existing assets is of great significance for improving the level of infrastructure operation and management, expanding effective investment reasonably, reducing government debt risks, and lowering corporate debt levels. From the cases investigated and dealt with by disciplinary inspection and supervision organs in recent years, it can be seen that some party members and leading cadres did not fulfill their duties correctly, resulting in idle and wasteful use of state-owned assets; Some are enthusiastic about launching infrastructure projects, causing significant losses and serious idle waste of state-owned assets. Disciplinary inspection and supervision organs at all levels adhere to problem oriented approach, closely monitor the implementation of state-owned asset supervision responsibilities, weave a tight supervision network, promote the comprehensive sorting of existing assets, activate idle assets, enhance the governance capacity of state-owned assets, and promote asset preservation and appreciation. The negligence and irresponsibility of management personnel in state-owned enterprises have resulted in the idle and loss of waste materials, causing adverse effects. As a professional manager of state-owned enterprises, Mr. Dan should have fulfilled his duties of entrusted management, but he ignored the waste materials, resulting in the loss of the company's state-owned assets. The case handled by the investigators of Hanjiang State owned Capital Investment Group Co., Ltd. (referred to as "Hanjiang State owned Investment") in Xiangyang City, Hubei Province, has a deep memory and believes that this is a typical case of dereliction of duty by management personnel in state-owned enterprises. In 2018, Xiangyang City included the "Urban Central Heating Project" in the "Ten Practical Matters" of the municipal government, and Hanjiang Guotou was responsible for its construction and operation. In September 2018, Xiangtou Energy, a subsidiary of Hanjiang Guotou, was responsible for the heating renovation of 16 residential areas. The dismantled waste materials such as steel pipes, valves, and radiators were piled up on a self owned idle land near Huanshan Road. Until March 2021, due to the need for waste disposal work, Xiangtou Energy organized an inspection of the heating pipeline in the urban area and found that all the materials had been lost. The investigation found that Shan, the former chief engineer (professional manager) of Xiangtou Energy, as the leader in charge of the heating renovation project in the relevant community, failed to fulfill his management responsibilities for properly disposing of waste materials. During the 30 month period of open-air storage of materials, he only visited the site once and did not arrange a dedicated person to manage them. In August 2019, Xiangtou Energy held a manager's office meeting, requiring reasonable classification and strengthened management of waste materials. However, Mr. Shan still did not formulate measures or assign personnel to be responsible. Moreover, when the staff reported the loss of materials, Mr. Shan neither took the initiative to report it to the company's main responsible person in a timely manner nor took any measures to remedy it. He only went to the site for inspection after half a month. After the loss of materials, under the supervision of superiors, Mr. Shan went to the public security organs to report it. In 2022, the Hanjiang State Investment Commission (Supervision Commissioner's Office) will seriously investigate and punish the illegal case of Dan's violation of work requirements, improper performance of duties, and loss of state-owned assets. In September of the same year, Shan was dismissed from his position by the government and his employment relationship was terminated. Officials in charge of the Hanjiang Guotou Commission for Discipline Inspection (Supervision Commissioner's Office) believe that the case has exposed issues such as a lack of sense of responsibility, untrue work style, ineffective institutional supervision, and a failure to maintain management at all levels. As a newly established state-owned heating renovation company, Xiangtou Energy urgently needs professional technical talents. Mr. Shan was introduced as a professional manager to be responsible for the development of the heating market, the improvement and renovation of heating terminal customer projects. However, after becoming a professional manager of a state-owned enterprise, Dan did not truly see himself as a "custodian" or "guardian" of state-owned assets. He knew that the materials piled up in the open had risks and hidden dangers, but still allowed them to pass. At the time of the incident, Xiangtou Energy had not been established for long, and its rules and regulations were not yet perfect. The personnel structure was also relatively young, and when encountering new situations and problems, sometimes there were not many solutions, so it adopted the tactic of "delaying". Due to a lack of understanding of relevant policies, the company's material management system has not been introduced. When implementing the decisions and deployments of superiors, supervision is only conducted in the form of meetings, without any supervision or inspection afterwards, resulting in a heavy pressure transmission from top to bottom. State owned assets have been idle for a long time, even illegally occupied or sold, causing losses and waste, seriously affecting the preservation and appreciation of value. During the period when the asset operation company under the former Fuchun Bay New City Construction Investment Group was responsible for managing the fixed assets of Lingqiao Industrial Park, it did not arrange staff to check and verify the relevant fixed assets of Lingqiao Water Supply Pump Station according to regulations, nor did it implement daily supervision measures, resulting in long-term loss of management of state-owned assets and illegal occupation and sale by others. In December 2021, Feng, the director of the Asset Management Department of the group, and three others were respectively dealt with due to inadequate supervision of state-owned assets. Subsequently, the relevant assets were also recovered. In the view of Sun Hong, Director of the Party and Government Conduct Supervision Office of the Fuyang District Commission for Discipline Inspection and Supervision, there are various forms of idle and wasteful use of state-owned assets at present: firstly, asset "mismanagement". Some management units have inaccurate understanding of the current status of their state-owned assets and unclear bottom line, resulting in some assets being left unattended, ignored, and unmanaged for a long time, causing idle waste. The second option is to lease at a low price or sign a long-term lease agreement. In the process of leasing or subleasing state-owned assets, either the asset income is significantly lower than the market price, resulting in a reduction, or a one-time signing of an ultra long term lease contract is required during the leasing process. In the short term, it may seem to activate assets and increase efficiency, but in reality, it is easy to affect asset optimization allocation and utilization efficiency due to long lease terms. Thirdly, long-term idleness leads to natural depreciation of fixed assets. Some fixed assets have not found effective ways to revitalize during the disposal process, resulting in a long-term state of "gray". During the idle process, natural disasters, wear and tear, and other reasons may cause asset depreciation and price drops, while daily operating and maintenance costs will also increase expenses. From the actual situation, the long-term idle of state-owned assets is not an isolated case, and the harm and impact should not be underestimated. Du Jinji, Deputy Secretary of the Discipline Inspection Commission and Deputy Director of the Supervisory Commission of Luojiang District, Quanzhou City, Fujian Province, believes that various measures have been taken in various regions to prevent the idle and wasteful use of state-owned assets, which has greatly improved this phenomenon. However, there are still some problems. Some state-owned assets have been idle for a long time, even illegally occupied or sold, causing losses and waste of state-owned assets, seriously affecting the preservation and appreciation of state-owned assets. Such phenomena should be taken seriously. Through sorting, it was found that some party members, leading cadres or public officials have neglected their duties and responsibilities, such as He Fangen, the former Chief Business Manager of Bank of China Hebei Branch, who did not fulfill his duties correctly, resulting in idle and wasteful state-owned assets and was expelled from the party. Some functional departments lack supervision and cooperation. For example, in the second half of 2023, the Commission for Discipline Inspection and Supervision of Huaiyin District, Huai'an City, Jiangsu Province, carried out a special rectification of prominent problems in the field of supporting housing in urban residential areas. It was found that supporting housing in residential areas has been idle for a long time, arbitrarily occupied, rented at low prices, illegally sold, disposed of in violation of regulations, and used for unauthorized purposes. The relevant functional departments are not aware of whether the supporting buildings in the community are constructed according to the prescribed area and requirements, whether they are delivered for use in a timely manner according to regulations, and whether they have been illegally replaced by development enterprises. Some views on political achievements are misplaced. For example, Wang, the former secretary of a district committee in a certain city, blindly borrowed money to forcibly promote the construction of a certain project without feasibility study and demonstration, resulting in a large number of idle buildings and waste. This not only wastes national assets but also seriously damages the image of the Party and the government. For example, Zhang Fenghuai, former Party Secretary and President of Bank of China Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region Branch, was enthusiastic about launching infrastructure projects and took advantage of his position to seek benefits for others. He accepted huge amounts of property from others, causing significant losses and serious idle waste of state-owned assets, and was expelled from the party. Moreover, when disposing of idle state-owned assets, illegal operations and profiting from them have resulted in the "disguised loss" of assets. Guo Liping, Deputy Director of the Third Discipline Inspection and Supervision Office of the Qiantang District Commission for Discipline Inspection and Supervision in Hangzhou, believes that from the investigation and handling of cases, firstly, the hidden mutation has intensified, and some idle waste problems have emerged through covert means such as fictitious businesses and the establishment of "shadow companies", aiming to illegally transfer or embezzle state-owned assets; Secondly, it is intertwined with corruption issues, where some managers use their power to seek personal gain, engage in profit transmission, and rent-seeking activities; The third is that the methods are more covert and complex, such as using digital means to conduct false transactions, falsify financial data, etc., which poses challenges to investigation and punishment. Pay close attention to the implementation of state-owned asset supervision responsibilities, promote the comprehensive sorting of existing assets, activate idle assets to awaken "dormant" resources, and make idle assets "come alive". In Xiangyang City, the Hanjiang State Investment Commission (Supervision Commissioner's Office) deeply analyzed the case of state-owned asset loss and did a good job in promoting reform through the case. Hanjiang Guotou has formulated the "Asset Disposal Management Measures" and "Asset Lease Management Measures" to comprehensively regulate all aspects of asset disposal and leasing, achieve the use of systems to manage power, personnel, and affairs, and standardize discretionary power. In response to the exposure of incomplete and inadequate asset management systems in some subsidiary companies in the Dan case, Hanjiang Guotou urged the subsidiary companies to improve their asset utilization, management, and disposal systems, and build a comprehensive and practical institutional system. Only with a clear foundation can the path be clear. Hanjiang Guotou has established a sound asset management institution, with dedicated personnel responsible for asset operation and management, forming a hierarchical and closed-loop regulatory chain. Improve the asset management ledger, rely on intelligent management methods, and strengthen the query and tracking of the use and management status of state-owned assets. Disciplinary inspection and supervision agencies at all levels closely monitor the implementation of state-owned asset supervision responsibilities and weave a tight and dense supervision network. Focusing on the problem of idle and wasteful use of supporting housing in urban residential areas, the Huaiyin District Commission for Discipline Inspection and Supervision has promoted the standardized management of supporting housing in urban residential areas through the integration of "investigation, reform, and governance". The Huaiyin District Commission for Discipline Inspection and Supervision has also formed a special report on supervision, submitting a special report to the district committee and government, requesting them to carry out long-term governance on the management and use of supporting buildings in the community, and rectify prominent problems that exist. Sort out the guidelines and policies related to supporting housing for urban residential communities at the central and provincial levels, clarify the legal responsibilities and performance of district natural resources and planning bureaus, housing and construction bureaus, civil affairs bureaus, education and sports bureaus, health commissions, streets and other units, form a list of responsibilities, and put forward 46 specific suggestions to various supervisory units to urge them to fulfill their duties and responsibilities. At the same time, the Huaiyin District Commission for Discipline Inspection and Supervision has carried out in-depth investigations into more than 240 key issues, such as the misappropriation, illegal transfer, illegal sale, and low-priced rental of supporting buildings, through the linkage of "room, group, and land", to verify and cancel outstanding problems one by one. Through on-site verification, review of account books, visits and discussions, more than 15 people have been investigated and punished, and more than 21 million yuan of economic losses have been recovered, promoting the establishment of five regulations. In practice, various regions adhere to a problem oriented approach and solidly carry out rectification. The Quanzhou Municipal Party Committee Inspection Office has issued inspection recommendations to the Municipal State owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission Party Committee to address issues such as unclear assets and insufficient vitality of idle assets in municipal state-owned enterprises, and to promote special rectification. The discipline inspection and supervision institutions of state-owned enterprises in Quanzhou City have developed and constructed an online supervision system for state-owned enterprises based on the common problems reported by the Municipal Party Committee during inspections, and urged municipal state-owned enterprises to carry out inspections and rectification in the latter half of the article. At present, more than half of the idle assets in the local area have been activated. The Commission for Discipline Inspection and Supervision of Jurong City, Jiangsu Province, focused on the issue of "some idle state-owned assets not being activated" feedback from the special audit, and carried out special supervision and inspection in conjunction with problem rectification, promoting the activation and utilization of 78300 square meters of existing land and 61 newly used properties, achieving asset growth and cost savings of over 4 million yuan. Jurong