4 The organisation of share management in a selection of countries

Organisation of state ownership varies quite extensively within the OECD area. This chapter provides just a brief survey of share management in a few other countries. Sweden and Finland share many similarities with Norway, both in terms of the extent of state ownership and the organisation of share management in the public administration. In France, the State also owns extensive assets, but the management model differs.

4.1 Sweden

The Swedish state is Sweden’s largest corporate owner, and manages assets in 55 enterprises/companies, of which 42 are wholly owned by the State and 4 are listed on the stock exchange.

The total value of the State’s ownership is estimated in the Swedish State’s ownership report for 2005 at SEK 675 billion. As of 31 December 2005, the total value of state-owned assets on the stock exchange amounted to SEK 134 billion.

The Swedish State’s Ownership Policy states that the Government shall actively monitor and manage state-owned assets in order to achieve optimum value growth and, where appropriate, the furtherance of special public interest purposes. This is achieved by setting, monitoring and evaluating financial objectives, including national economic objectives and other special objectives.

In the Ownership Policy, the Government sets out its positions on issues of principle concerning asset management, including its views on general meetings, board nominations, responsibility of the board, external reporting, executive management and its remuneration.

Most of the expertise and resources in the state ownership administration is consolidated in a separate ownership department under the Ministry of Industry, Employment and Communications. The Minister for Enterprise and Energy has a coordinating responsibility for coherent administration of state-owned assets and the nomination of board members for companies in which the Swedish State is a shareholder.

Civil service officials and/or active politicians represent the Swedish State on a number of company boards. However, this does not apply to the listed companies. Sweden follows the same practice as Norway as regards participation in nomination committees in listed companies.

4.2 Finland

In Finland, like Sweden and Norway, the State is also a relatively large shareowner.

The Finnish State owns shares in 55 companies of significance, of which 29 are termed «statsbolag» in which the State has a majority interest. The other 26 are referred to as ‘interessebolag» in which the State has a significant minority stake. 14 of the companies are listed on the stock exchange.

The value of the State’s shareholdings in listed companies totalled 19,400 million Euro at year-end 2006. The value of shares in non-listed companies operating on ordinary market terms is estimated at 4,000 million Euro.

The object of Finnish State asset management is to achieve as good a financial and social overall result as possible. Ownership is managed professionally and proactively, and the main object is to improve the companies’ profitability and, in the long term, to increase the value of the owner’s assets.

Responsibility for asset management is divided between several ministries. The most important of these are the Ministry of Trade and Industry, the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Transport and Communications.

An executive group has been established with the remit of ensuring that the planning and implementation of initiatives to further corporate governance are carried out consistently through the public administration.

The Ministry of Trade and Industry is responsible for improvements to and general supervision of state ownership policy and for the formulation of positions, decisions and measures pertaining to the policy.

In Finland, the standard practice is for the Ministry with responsibility for shares to be directly represented on a company’s board of directors.

4.3 France

The State owns some 60 different companies in France. By tradition these were managed directly by the ministries. However, with effect from 2004, a quasi-directorate was established – the French Government Shareholding Agency (APE) – which sorts under the French Ministry of Economy, Finance and Industry. The agency was created in order to discharge the role of shareholder within the frameworks of French regulations and in conformance with the Government’s guidelines. The primary purpose is to optimise the value of the State’s shareholdings.

APE manages a government portfolio comprising both minority interests and large, state-controlled companies spanning a wide range of activities and undertakings. APE cooperates with other ministries, coordinates strategies and guidelines for the state as a shareholder and is the chief adviser to the ministry in all matters pertaining to the State’s role as a shareholder.