The push to get state owned enterprises (SOE) to focus on their businesses and produce higher dividends for the Government is continuing, SOE Minister Simon Power said today.

Mr Power told Parliament's finance select committee that shareholding ministers were finalising SOEs' business plans and they wanted them to focus on "appropriate returns".

SOEs represented $24 billion in equity or 20 percent of the Government's balance sheet, yet returns across the portfolio were well below the risk free rate of return.

Portfolio wide the return was 1.5 percent, but some SOEs did far better than others.

Labour MPs quizzed whether this meant job losses or higher prices charged by SOEs and in particular the electricity generators.

Mr Power said he expected the SOEs to be more "sophisticated" in their response, but the questions of job losses or price rises were an operational matter.

In recent times there had been 311 job losses at SOEs (plus 80 at TVNZ) compared to the 19,500 people employed.

Mr Power said SOEs had to concentrate on doing their core businesses well.

"There is an emphasis on doing what you supposed to do well," Mr Power said.

`We are interested in return to the Crown of taxpayer investments ... This is 20 percent of the crown balance sheet and it has to be involved in refocusing on what matters to the shareholders and the economy."

Where SOEs had moved out of core business the Government would be looking at the proposals on a case-by-case basis to ensure they contributed to the economy at a more difficult time.

The Government also wanted greater accountability for SOEs and for them to hold public annual general meetings.

Mr Power said progress was being made on this but it would take time "to turn that ship around".