State-owned enterprises are losing competitiveness and the support from investors, but the way forward is still far from clear, reports Shi Jing in Shanghai

Even as the central government called for further reform of China's massive State-owned enterprises, a policy that could undermine their dominant market positions, investors were pulling funds from their shares.

A survey by Bloomberg News in late February found that oil producer PetroChina Co Ltd ranked only 14 on a list of the top 20 emerging-market stocks in terms of market capitalization, down from fourth place a year earlier. It was the only Chinese company to make the top 20.