BEIJING, June 15 -- Ten of China's biggest State-owned enterprises are opening up top management positions to the public, including six that foreigners can apply for, the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC) announced yesterday.

Seven enterprises are each recruiting a vice-general manager or a vice-president, while the other three are seeking chief accountants.

The six roles that are open to foreign candidates include vice-general managers at Wuhan Iron & Steel (Group) Corp and at audio video products developer China Hualu Group Co Ltd, and vice-presidents at Sino-coal International Engineering Design & Research Institute and the Shanghai Institute of Pharmaceutical Industry.

China Eastern Airlines and forestry machinery producer China Foma (Group) Co Ltd are also both looking globally to recruit a chief accountant, said sources with SASAC, the supervisor of the 160 biggest State-owned enterprises in China.

Power giant China Huaneng Group is seeking a chief accountant, and China Aviation Oil Holding Company is offering a vice-general manager role, but both positions are only available to applicants with Chinese nationality.

Details of the job descriptions will be released next Monday.

Such senior management positions used to be directly appointed by the government.

The latest round of recruitment is the fourth time SASAC has organized such a campaign since 2003.

In the coming months, more central enterprises will participate in the hunt for top executives, SASAC sources said yesterday.

The recruitment drives aim to help central enterprises acquire outstanding executives from the labour market and enhance their global competitiveness.

The previous three campaigns attracted a total of about 2,600 applicants, including foreigners and overseas Chinese.

Fifty executive positions were filled, including general managers, vice-general managers and chief accountants.

A spokesman for SASAC said yesterday the executives recruited in previous campaigns had won high praise within the enterprises.

Though the majority of candidates were chosen from State companies or government departments and no foreigners had been selected, some of the executives came from private and overseas companies.

A fluent foreign language, overseas work experience and familiarity with the management of large State-owned enterprises were common criteria for the positions.

SASAC Minister Li Rongrong said the recruitment process was conducted on a fair and equal basis, based on applicants' experience and ability.

Insiders said factors such as salary demands and adaptability to cultural differences also had some impact on the selection process.

(Source: China Daily)