ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

State-owned enterprise

A state-owned enterprise (SOE) is a company that is owned and operated by the government. That means the government owns the company and gets to decide what the company does, how it runs, and what it produces. For example, an SOE might make cars or sell electricity. The money the SOE makes goes to the government, so it can use that money to fund things like schools and roads.