The stock ownership plan for eligible employees will be expanded to more State-owned enterprises or SOEs, Economic Information Daily reported Friday.

According to news outlets, eligible employees at the first batch of 10 SOEs' pilot subsidiaries have become shareholders of these enterprises.

By the end of last November, 22 of China's provinces have enacted operation methods and detailed rules to carry out the employee stock ownership plan, and 158 SOEs in 27 provinces are piloting the plan.

Lin Qiangmiao, an official at the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, said the employee stock ownership plan has shown some promise.

The employee stock ownership plan is an important part of China's SOE mixed ownership reform, which aims to enhance employees' creativity, enthusiasm and sense of belonging.

It emphasized eligible employees will be permitted to buy stocks instead of the enterprise allocating shares to all its employees.

The SASAC will draw on experiences of the employee stock ownership plan piloted in some SOEs, and build a long-term effective mechanism to stimulate as well as restrain the plan as necessary by the end of this year.