This report provides easily accessible and updated information on ownership and governance practices of state-owned enterprises across 59 jurisdictions. Its main goal is to promote greater awareness and implementation of the OECD Guidelines on Corporate Governance of State-Owned Enterprises, particularly following their 2024 revision. The report is the main publication of the OECD Working Party on State Ownership and Privatisation Practices (Working Party) and serves as a comprehensive repository of its expertise.
The report builds on information recently collected or verified through various means, including a comparative analysis on Disclosure, transparency, and the responsibilities of the boards of SOEs undertaken by the Working Party in 2023 with support from the European Commission. It also draws on additional data sources, including recent national reviews of the governance of SOEs undertaken by the Working Party, the 2023 OECD Product Market Regulation Indicators, and the OECD Capital Market Series dataset. Annex A provides an overview of the methodology and the jurisdictions covered.
The report also builds on and complements other OECD work, including the OECD Corporate Governance Factbook 2023, the Global Corporate Sustainability Report 2024, the report Climate Change and Low-Carbon Transition Policies in State-Owned Enterprises (2022), and the forthcoming best practice guide on enhancing sustainability in the state-owned sector.
The report has five chapters that cover all areas of the SOE Guidelines, specifically: 1) Professional and active SOE ownership, which includes a discussion of the rationales for state ownership (Chapter I of the SOE Guidelines) and the role of the state as an owner (Chapter II); 2) Ensuring a level playing field, which covers SOEs in the marketplace (Chapter III) and the equitable treatment of shareholders and investors (Chapter IV); 3) Disclosure, transparency and accountability in SOEs (Chapter V); 4) The composition and responsibilities of the boards of SOEs (Chapter VI); and 5) Sustainability and state ownership (Chapter VII).
The report was prepared by Jorge Galvez Mendez and Karoline Irmscher, with analytical contributions from the SOE, Financial Economics and Sustainable Finance teams in the OECD Capital Markets and Financial Institutions Division. The report was prepared under the guidance of Sara Sultan, Head of the SOE Unit, and Serdar Çelik, Head of the Division. Delegates from the Working Party provided valuable information and comments on the report.