BEIJING — Profits of Chinese State-owned enterprises (SOEs) saw steady growth in the first nine months of 2019, official data showed.

From January to September, the combined profits of China's SOEs reached 2.72 trillion yuan (about $383.89 billion), up 6.6 percent year-on-year, according to a report released on the Ministry of Finance's website.

The pace edged up from the 6.1 percent increase in the first eight months.

China's centrally administered State-owned enterprises (SOEs) generated a combined profit of 1.79 trillion yuan, up 6.8 percent year-on-year.

During the period, total revenue of the SOEs stood at 44.89 trillion yuan, increasing 7.1 percent from a year earlier.

The debt-to-asset ratio of the SOEs fell 0.1 percentage points to 64.4 percent by the end of September, according to the ministry.