The ownership and governance of state-owned enterprises

Governments acting as the owners of enterprises engaging in cross-border trade and investment face a number of issues regarding their ownership and governance structure. This chapter covers the main areas of concern for the government as an owner and concerns for regulators and policy makers in foreign jurisdictions. It points to examples of the actions taken, at the national as well as international level, to address some of the concerns. These include adhering to codes of corporate governance and competitive neutrality arrangements. The chapter also extensively covers provisions of the OECD Guidelines on Corporate Governance of State-Owned Enterprises that are applicable to SOEs operating across borders. The Guidelines promote the clarification of SOE objectives sound regulation and governance practices the independence and autonomy of SOEs and better monitoring through strengthened transparency and disclosure, as priority areas to focus on.