BEIJING -- China's centrally administered state-owned enterprises reported steady revenue and profit growth in the first two months of 2022, according to the country's top state asset regulator.

The combined revenues of 97 central SOEs reached 5.7 trillion yuan ($894 billion) from January to February, up 17.6 percent year-on-year, the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council said in a statement on Tuesday.

During the period, the total profits of these companies hit 367.87 billion yuan, expanding 20.6 percent year-on-year, with net profits growing 20.4 percent to 282.17 billion yuan.

The regulator urged efforts to maintain the accelerated growth of central SOE profits compared to those of the broader economy, to ensure their asset-liability ratio remains under control and to increase their profit margins, productivity, and research and development investment.