SOE
Business & Finance abbreviation · Economics
| Stands for | State-owned enterprise |
|---|---|
| Categories | Business & Finance |
SOE stands for State-owned enterprise, an economics abbreviation.
Company in which the government holds full or majority ownership or effective control, often operating in strategic sectors such as energy, utilities, banking, telecommunications and transport. SOEs play large roles in China, India, Russia, the Gulf states and many European countries.
Example: China's largest SOEs, such as State Grid and Sinopec, rank among the world's biggest companies by revenue.
Usage notes
Governments use SOEs to provide public services, control strategic resources or support industrial policy, but critics cite inefficiency and unfair competition with private firms. The OECD publishes guidelines on the corporate governance of SOEs. Privatization waves since the 1980s have sold many to private investors.
Related abbreviations
More economics abbreviations
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- REER – Real effective exchange rate
- RPI – Retail Prices Index
- SDR – Special drawing rights
- SEZ – Special economic zone
- SNB – Swiss National Bank
- TFP – Total factor productivity
- ToT – Terms of trade
- U-3 – Official unemployment rate (U-3)
- U-6 – Broadest unemployment rate (U-6)
- UBI – Universal basic income
- WPI – Wholesale price index