The mission of the DPE was to ensure that SOEs were financially sustainable and that they delivered on government's strategic objectives. The DPE wished to apply the best practices to shareholder management services. There had to be a balance between the interests of the SOE and the national interest. There were three components to an SOE, namely the shareholder, the Board and management. The shareholder owned shares and not the assets of an SOE. Ownership of the shares gave the shareholder specific rights and powers. These were the right: