Finding balance 2023: benchmarking performance and building climate resilience in Pacific state-owned enterprises

This study reviews the historical financial performance of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) in nine Pacific island economies, identifies the risks that state-owned power utilities are facing as a result of climate change, and assesses the policy mechanisms that are available to governments and SOEs to improve their resiliency and sustainability. The study focuses on the period 2015-2022, thereby including the impact of the first 2 years of the COVID-19 and its associated border closures and lockdowns. The study aims to track the progress and impact of SOE commercialization in participating countries. This principle of commercialization, which allows SOEs to operate under similar legal and governance parameters as private companies, underpins SOE reform efforts throughout the Pacific, and is compatible with broader government goals of inclusive economic growth, Due to its focus on commercialization, the study does not detail the specific technical performance indicators of the SOEs. In addition to the survey of SOE financial performance, this edition has a special focus on the profound risks posed by climate change, and how governments and their state-owned utilities are acting to mitigate its effects and build resiliency. The study shows how efforts to commercialize SOEs and partner with the private sector are assisting SOEs to respond to climate change.