Peng Huagang, secretary-general and spokesperson of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC) of the State Council, speaks at a press conference held by the State Council Information Office in Beijing, capital of China, April 19, 2022. China's centrally administered state-owned enterprises (SOEs) spent more on research and development to boost innovation-driven development in the first three months of 2022, the country's top state-owned assets regulator said on Tuesday. (Xinhua/Pan Xu)

China's centrally administered state-owned enterprises (SOEs) spent more on research and development to boost innovation-driven development in the first three months of 2022, the country's top state-owned assets regulator said on Tuesday.

The central SOEs' total R&D input from January to March expanded 18.9 percent year on year to 151.42 billion yuan (about 23.76 billion U.S. dollars), according to the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council.

The operating profit margin of central SOEs stood at 6.8 percent during the first three months, flat with the same period last year.

Tuesday's data also showed that the production efficiency of central SOEs increased steadily. Their annualized total labor productivity was 727,000 yuan per capita in the first three months, a year-on-year increase of 13 percent.

In the January-March period, these companies raked in 9 trillion yuan in combined revenues, up 15.4 percent year on year. Their net profits grew 13.7 percent to 472.33 billion yuan, according to the commission.