(Yicai) Oct. 29 -- State Grid’s General Manager Pang Xiaogang has been appointed as a deputy head of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, the Chinese government agency under the State Council responsible for managing the country’s state-owned enterprises.

Pang’s appointment was announced in a statement posted on the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security’s website on Oct. 27.

Pang, 53, began his career at China Southern Power Grid. He was named director of the board affairs department and board secretary there in July 2019, moved to State Grid as a deputy general manager in July 2020, and was elevated to GM at State Grid in June last year.

The appointment of senior executives from large SOEs to top positions at the SASAC is not uncommon. Chairman Zhang Yuzhuo worked at coal miner China Shenhua Energy and energy giant China Petroleum and Chemical before joining the SASAC in February 2023. Tan Zuojun and Li Zhen, its two other deputy heads, were chairman of China State Shipbuilding and GM of Anshan Iron and Steel Group, respectively.

The SASAC’s main responsibility is to act as the state’s shareholder, primarily through capital management, over centrally administered SOEs, supervising them to prevent operational risks and to safeguard and enhance the value of state-owned assets.

Editors: Tang Shihua, Futura Costaglione