What are government-owned corporations?

Government-owned corporations are legal entities established by governments to undertake commercial activities on their behalf. While they operate in commercial affairs and possess distinct legal forms, they can sometimes combine commercial operations with public policy or non-commercial objectives. Their corporate structures range from direct parts of government to stock companies where the state acts as a shareholder.

What we know

• A government-owned corporation is a legal entity that undertakes commercial activities on behalf of an owner government. [2]
• Government-owned corporations have a distinct legal form and are established to operate in commercial affairs. [2]
• Some state-owned enterprises, such as those in the Philippines, conduct both commercial and non-commercial activities like social security systems. [3]
• The legal status of government-owned corporations varies from being a part of government to stock companies with a state as a regular stockholder. [2]

Where to go next

• a case in pointHow are state-owned enterprises regulated in the Philippines?
• compared withWhat distinguishes public sector enterprises from private companies?
• the bigger pictureHow do general business entities operate for profit?
• how it workedWhat mechanisms do states use to oversee public corporate sectors?
• what followedWhat financial interactions occur between state enterprises and national budgets?
• an unexpected connectionHow do government corporations connect to social security systems?State enterprises handle not only pure commercial businesses but can also operate mandatory public social security systems for government employees.

Sources

• [1]list of government-owned companies (Wikidata Q18355682) · CC0 1.0
• [2]List of government-owned companies · CC BY-SA 4.0
• [3]Government-owned and controlled corporation · CC BY-SA 4.0
• [4]Privately held company · CC BY-SA 4.0
• [5]Business · CC BY-SA 4.0