Norway Daily No. 44/03
Historisk arkiv
Publisert under: Regjeringen Bondevik II
Utgiver: Utenriksdepartementet
Nyhet | Dato: 04.03.2003 | Sist oppdatert: 11.11.2006
The Royal Ministry of Foreign
Affairs, Oslo
Press Division
Norway Daily No. 44/03
Date: 4 March 2003
Trouble for Foss after Petroleum Fund losses (Aftenposten)
A NOK 2-4 billion cut in next year’s national budget could be
the result of the slump in the Government Petroleum Fund. By the
end of the year the Petroleum Fund could be NOK 50-100 billion
smaller than Finance Minister Per-Kristian Foss thought it would be
as recently as last autumn. On Sunday government ministers will
gather to start work on the country’s 2004 budget – with a lot less
money at their disposal. Yesterday the Norwegian Central Bank
published the Government Petroleum Fund’s 2002 results. A dreadful
2001 was followed by an even worse 2002. In fact, it was the
Petroleum Fund’s least successful year so far. Calculated in
foreign currency, the Petroleum Fund’s downturn has continued into
2003. The slump in international stock markets could lead to Mr
Foss losing a further NOK 2.4 billion from the budget next year.
Instead of spending NOK 2 billion more of Norway’s oil wealth, we
could be forced to spend less next year.
Petroleum Fund bleeding (Dagens Næringsliv)
We are taking chunks out of the Petroleum Fund. This year we
will spend NOK 10 billion more than the Fund’s actual return on
investment. If Finance Minister Per-Kristian Foss was only allowed
to spend the actual return on investment from the Petroleum Fund,
rather than its expected return, he would have around NOK 10
billion less to play with in his national budget this year. The
rules on spending the country’s oil wealth were introduced by the
Labour government led by Jens Stoltenberg in the spring of 2001,
and say that governments may spend only the expected return on
investment from the Petroleum Fund. The expected return is "fixed"
at four per cent.
Labour supports one referendum on EU membership (Dagsavisen)
They disagree fundamentally on the EU, but one thing both
supporters and opponents of Norwegian EU membership within the
Labour Party do agree on is that there is no reason to have more
than one referendum on the issue. Yesterday, the Labour Party
appointed a working group that will recommend whether the party
should say yes or no to a new application to join the EU at
Labour’s annual conference in the spring of 2005. Four opponents of
membership have been included in the 11-man working group of party
heavyweights – but supporters of EU membership are in the
majority.
Labour’s party secretary denies Jagland is being kept out of the loop (Aftenposten)
Labour’s spokesman on the EU, Thorbjørn Jagland, was not
asked if he wanted to participate in the party’s new EU working
group. But according to party secretary Martin Kolberg this is not
something to make a big deal out of. "People are trying to make an
issue out of this, where there is none. When we put together an
internal working group, we normally invite people from the central
committee and local politicians. The MPs who lead our
representation on the various parliamentary committees are kept out
of these internal bodies," said Mr Kolberg. The Labour Party
yesterday announced the names of those appointed to its new EU
working group, which will be chaired by MP Bjarne Håkon Hanssen. In
the run-up to the party’s annual conference in 2005, the group will
have a major influence on the shape of Labour’s EU debate.
Aker Kværner with billions in the bank (Aftenposten)
With NOK 5 billion in cash and short-term interest-bearing
receivables, Aker Kværner has not had so much money in the bank
since 1993. But it is probably just as well. Not only are Aker
Kværner’s coffers more well-filled than at any point in the past
ten years, its financial results for 2002 were the best for five
years. But neither of these factors was enough to impress the stock
market. The weak state of the world economy means that Aker Kværner
is under threat from several quarters. Cash deposits amounting to
NOK 4,924 million will therefore come in handy when a NOK 4 billion
loan falls due in the autumn of 2004.
EU fine gave sharp boost to profits (Dagens Næringsliv)
Half of Aker Kværner’s NOK 1 billion profits for last year
stem from the re-allocation of provisions the company set aside
after the European Commission imposed a fine amounting to almost
NOK 500 million on the Kværner Warnow shipyard. The fine was
imposed in response to alleged breaches of the capacity limits that
the EU had imposed on the shipyard. The fine is still the subject
of legal wrangling in the courts. Aker Kværner’s chief executive
Helge Lund was a happy man yesterday when he announced the
company’s 2002 financial results. He boasted that the company was
in a position to present its best results for five years, and in a
difficult market too. Last year Aker Kværner achieved a pre-tax
profit of just over NOK 1 billion, compared with a loss of almost
NOK 5 billion the year before.
Norsk Hydro boss could get bonus worth half his salary (Aftenposten)
Norsk Hydro paid its chief executive, Eivind Reiten, NOK 4.8
million in salary last year – NOK 1.2 million more than the year
before. Mr Reiten’s basic salary rose by 15 per cent. In addition,
he was paid a bonus of NOK 630,000. Mr Reiten’s bonus bonanza
continues this year. While his basic salary remains the same, Mr
Reiten’s bonus prospects are significantly better. If he makes his
full bonus entitlement, he could end up with as much as NOK 6.3
million in his pocket. The unions are furious.
Worth Noting
- Last year the Government Petroleum Fund handed out 12 new
contracts to manage the investment of the country’s oil revenues.
None of the contracts was awarded to a Norwegian fund manager. The
Norwegian financial services sector is now completely out of the
Government Petroleum Fund.
(Aftenposten) - NOK 130 billion in government oil revenues evaporated in
foreign stock markets last year. The Socialist Left Party, Centre
Party and Progress Party want to inject several billion into the
Norwegian economy to bring down the unemployment rate.
(Dagsavisen) - The Government Petroleum Fund lost NOK 83 billion last year
because it invested in shares instead of bonds. The Progress
Party’s Siv Jensen now wants a review of the investment guidelines
followed by the Norwegian Central Bank, which administers the Fund.
(Klassekampen) - High flour prices and low import duties now make it more
profitable to ship bread all the way from Italy and France. Over
the past four years, the volume of bakery products imported to this
country has doubled, and the market is growing. Traditional
Norwegian brown bread is losing ground to croissants and French
loaves.
(Aftenposten) - Founder and former Sponsor Service chief executive Terje Bogen
does not trust the competence of the financial troubleshooters who
have written down assets and sent the company to the bankruptcy
court. He has hired two of the country’s best legal experts to
clear his name.
(Aftenposten) - The Progress Party, Labour Party and Socialist Left Party are
thinking of joining forces in an effort to reduce unemployment.
Together they form a majority in the Storting and can override the
Government.
(Dagsavisen) - Support for the Christian Democratic Party slips one percentage
point on Norsk Gallup’s March tracker poll. The party, one of the
three ruling coalition parties, has never had such little support
among the voters.
(Verdens Gang) - Internet banking in Norway has grown significantly in
popularity over the past year, according to a survey carried out by
the Norwegian Savings Banks’ Association. Around 1.65 million
people now use internet banking services, an increase of around
350,000 compared with last year. All in all, 47 per cent of bank
customers use internet banking services, compared with 36 per cent
last year.
(Aftenposten) - It might be appropriate to hold a referendum on the future of
the established church in Norway, the Church of Norway, in 2006.
"We will fight any vote on the status of the Church of Norway.
Human rights are not something to be voted on," said Lars Gule of
the Norwegian Humanist Association.
(Klassekampen) - Last year Norwegians paid over 50 per cent more for funeral
services than they did four years previously. During the first six
months of 1998, Norwegians spent NOK 247 million on funeral,
crematorium and cemetery expenses, according to figures released by
Statistics Norway. By 2002 that figure had risen to NOK 381
million.
(Vårt Land)
Today’s comment from Dagsavisen
Yesterday, the Labour Party’s central committee fired the
opening shot in a new EU debate. The party has appointed a working
group to prepare its position in the run-up to the 2005 general
election. Let us hope for the EU membership issue’s sake that this
will not turn out to be another shot in the foot this time. The
working group is a mixture of supporters and opponents of EU
membership, and those who have not yet made up their minds. It is
unlikely they will arrive at a unified conclusion. But they should
be able to agree on procedural issues and a timetable.
Historically, Norway’s EU debate resembles a Thirty Years War, in
which opponents of Norwegian membership have won the majority of
battles – at least the referenda. For its part, Labour has lost
both voters and government office because of its support for EU
membership. Two of the party’s best post-war leaders, Trygve
Bratteli and Gro Harlem Brundtland, saw their authority weakened
after losing in the two referenda so far. Against this gloomy
backdrop it is easy to understand why many Labour activists are in
no hurry to restart the debate. In our opinion, the Labour Party
should make haste slowly when it comes to EU membership. The party
will arrive in time all the same. Many people perceive today’s EEA
Agreement to be a exercise in political serfdom. But people do not
like to be driven too hard. If the next referendum is to end in
victory for EU membership, the parties are going to have to put
away the whip they have used on previous occasions, and dangle a
few carrots in front of the electorate instead.