State-owned Enterprise Reform and Public-Private Partnerships
We work with Pacific governments to improve the performance of state-owned enterprises and increase private sector involvement.
State-owned enterprises (SOEs) are amongst the largest commercial entities in most Pacific countries, managing essential infrastructure such as ports, airports, and utilities, and providing a range of financial and other services.
Yet the contribution of these SOEs to economic growth is low, and the services provided are often high-cost with low delivery standards and low productivity. Poor-performing SOEs slow economic growth and increase the costs of doing business for private companies that depend on their services.
Pacific countries recognize the importance of improving SOE performance, and many have already adopted leading edge reform programs. The ability of Pacific SOEs to deliver a wide range of public infrastructure and services can also be enhanced by increased partnerships with the private sector.
Progress has been made, but international and regional experience demonstrates that governments struggle to sustain improved SOE performance over time. Also, while SOEs remain under majority public ownership, politicians are likely to avoid commercial decisions that carry short-term political costs.
PSDI’s State-Owned Enterprise and Public-Private Partnerships focus area works to improve the performance and efficiency of SOEs, by:
- supporting improvements to legal, regulatory, governance, and monitoring arrangements to strengthen SOEs’ commercial mandate, enhance transparency, and improve accountability for those SOEs that remain under majority public ownership,
- supporting institutional strengthening of SOE monitoring agencies and PPP units to improve their capacity to implement SOE and PPP policies and laws; and
- helping to increase private sector involvement in SOEs through contracting out, implementing PPPs, and partially privatizing SOEs.
State-Owned Enterprise Reform and Public Private Partnerships and COVID-19
For more information on PSDI's State-Owned Enterprise Reform and Public Private Partnerships focus area and COVID-19, click here.
State-owned Enterprise Reform and Public-Private Partnerships at a glance
Renewable energy projects
Improvements supported
4 public-private partnerships
SOE benchmarking
tracking the financial performance of Pacific SOEs
1 corporatization
Women on SOE boards
Latest News
PSDI is working in Papua New Guinea to strengthen state-owned enterprise governance and performance, including through policy and legal reform and public-private partnership transaction support.
PSDI’s State-Owned Enterprise and Public Private Partnerships team delivered a seminar in Port Moresby this week, focused on the preparation of state-owned enterprise (SOE) Corporate Plans and Statements of Corporate Objectives.
Renewable energy can bring cost savings for Pacific utilities, but achieving these benefits requires strategic planning, careful integration of storage systems, and appropriate regulatory frameworks, according to PSDI SOE/PPP Expert, Laure Darcy, speaking at the Pacific Power Association Conference.
PSDI has been working with the Ports Authority of Tonga since 2018 to improve port operations and increase private sector participation, culminating in a public– private partnership that is making the port’s cargo handling more transparent and efficient.
Key Publications
