20 Examples of Public Companies

The public enterprises are those in which the absolute majority of the ownership of the stock titles belongs to some area of ​​the State, whether national, provincial or municipal. For example: Petrobras, GDF Gas Service, Statoil.

In simple terms, in a public company decisions are made based on the state interest, usually associated with the public interest and general welfare, and perhaps not around the logic of the private entrepreneur, whose objective is only the maximization of profit.

In almost every country in the world there are some public companies, but there are considerable differences with respect to the degree of state intervention on the economy of each of them: the most interventionist countries are those with the largest number of companies of this type.

Examples of public companies

1. Petrobras (Brazil)
2. GDF Gas Service (France)
3. Mexican oil (Mexico)
4. State Society of Industrial Participations (Spain)
5. Argentinian airlines (Argentina)
6. Railtrack railway network (England)
7. Fiscal Oil Fields of Bolivia (Bolivia)
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8. La Poste Postal Service (France)
9. Bogotá telecommunications company (Colombia)
10. Bolivian Air Transport (Bolivia)
11. Resona Holding (Japan)
12. Barcelona Zoo (Spain)
13. Tenesse Valley Authority (USA)
14. Bank of the Province of Buenos Aires (Argentina)
15. Red Eléctrica de España (Spain)
16. Israel Railways (Israel)
17. General Directorate of Military Manufacturing (Argentina)
18. Materials Bank of Peru (Peru)
19. Statoil (Norway)
20. Fiscal Oilfields (Argentina)

Public companies and politics

Socialist regimes propose the complete socialization of the production goods, which implies that all Business they would become public: the difference in their conception of the public company with which it occurs in most countries is that of control. In this case, it would remain in the hands of the workers and not of officials appointed by the State.

One of the debates most important aspects of the economy, in the framework of the discussion about economic policy, is convenience or not of the establishment of public companies, or even of the nationalization of private companies that they already work.

One of the criteria is that the State take possession of the sectors of the economy that must be organized in the form of monopoly, either due to the initial investment level they require or due to certain physical limitations.

The construction of underground networks, for example, is essential in large cities, and can hardly occur in a context of competition, so that the only Viable options are the establishment of a single company to build and take over the service, or public action to those effects.

Another criterion, different from the previous one, is to support public companies in cases where the profitability of private investment would not be sufficient to carry out the project for that way.

In such situations the efficiency criteria are not the same and situations such as the growth of the level of employment or the possible advantages that this phenomenon brings to the interest public.

The exploitation of a natural resourceFor example, it may fall into this category and the desirability of a public company may be considered for these purposes.

Not a few have absolute criteria regarding public companies: the aforementioned nationalization of all companies, or the idea that no company should be public.

Utility companies

Not all the actions carried out by the State are carried out through public companies. Those entities that provide public services (Those that do not receive any consideration, beyond the payment of taxes) are not considered public companies, but constitute the so-called ‘public expenditure’.

Education, justice or services such as the lighting, sweeping and cleaning They are from this group, and should not be confused with public companies that perform tasks that could be addressed by individuals (such as an airline), although with other objectives and criteria.