BEIJING - Profits of Chinese State-owned enterprises (SOEs) grew steadily in the first half of 2019, official data showed Tuesday.

The combined profits of China's SOEs rose 7.2 percent year-on-year to 1.82 trillion yuan ($264.5 billion) for the first six months, the Ministry of Finance (MOF) said in an online statement.

The pace of growth slowed from the 8.7-percent increase in the first five months.

SOEs generated a revenue of 29.5 trillion yuan during the period, up 7.8 percent from a year earlier.

By the end of June, total SOE assets had reached 195 trillion yuan, up 8.9 percent year-on-year, while their liabilities went up 8.8 percent to 125.8 trillion yuan.

The debt-to-asset ratio of the SOEs stood at 64.5 percent as of the end of June, according to the MOF.