Corporate Governance of State-Owned Enterprises in South Asia - A Regional Stocktaking

In South Asia, as in other regions of the world, state-owned enterprises (SOEs) remain important economic players despite a strong wave of privatizations in the 1990s and 2000s. SOEs in South Asia have historically
played a significant role in driving economic growth and delivering basic services by operating in strategic sectors such as electric utilities, oil and gas, financial services, and transportation. They have contributed significantly to gross domestic product (GDP), and SOE employment represents a significant share of public employment. At the same time, development challenges and increased global competition have prompted governments to take steps to improve SOE performance and efficiency. International experience over the past two decades has given rise to a growing consensus that reforms to strengthen government ownership and oversight policies, together with the regulatory framework for corporate governance of SOEs, are necessary for improving SOE performance.

In this context, South Asian governments requested a systematic compilation of existing practices through a “Regional Stocktaking on Corporate Governance of SOEs.” Comprehensive and systematic information
on the SOE sector and corporate governance arrangements in South Asia is not readily available at this time. This data gap exists despite a multitude of important practices and experiences in the region that could be
of interest to policy makers. Government counterparts in South Asian countries therefore requested the World Bank to prepare a Regional Stocktaking on SOE Corporate Governance to contribute to exchanging knowledge, facilitating cross-country cooperation, and promoting dissemination of good practices among SOE stakeholders.