China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation
In the late 1990s, economic reforms broke up state-owned monopolies and introduced "a limited amount of free-market competition" to improve the efficiency of defence industries. In July 1999, the China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation (CSIC) was spun-off from CSSC; the shipbuilding industry was divided roughly along geographical lines; CSSC retained assets in the east and south, and CSIC gained control in the northeaste and inland. Both reported to the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC). CSSC emerged as the smaller entity. Enterprises not affiliated with either conglomerate included shipyards owned by the People's Liberation Army (PLA), provinces, municipalities, foreign joint ventures, and Chinese shipping companies.