BEIJING, Feb. 20 (Xinhua) -- China's state-owned enterprises (SOEs) administered by the central government saw surging assets in the past five years thanks to improved production and efficiency.

Total assets of the centrally administered SOEs stood at 54.5 trillion yuan (8.59 trillion U.S. dollars) at the end of 2017, up 73.8 percent from the end of 2012, according to the country's top SOE regulator.

Profits made in the past five years reached 6.5 trillion yuan, up 27 percent compared with the period of 2008-2012.

Consolidation among them also picked up as the number of centrally administered SOEs was reduced from over 100 in 2013 to just 97 now after a string of mergers and reorganizations.

Meanwhile, more than two-thirds of China's centrally administered SOEs and their subsidiaries have introduced outside investors, registered new firms, restructured or gone public to optimize corporate management.

Their global competitiveness gained traction thanks to reform efforts, with three Chinese centrally administered SOEs ranking among the top five Fortune 500 Companies of 2017.