EU-DIGEST

Norway fund to invest $2 bn in Indian stocks

Norway fund to invest $2 bn in Indian stocks

Even as foreign institutional investors rapidly pull out their money from Dalal Street, Norway’s sovereign wealth fund, the world’s second largest, is set to invest $2 billion in Indian stocks.The Bombay Stock Exchange’s benchmark Sensex has been in a free fall this year, dipping below 10,000 last week, but the Norwegian government said the investments by the Government Pension Fund would take place between this month and January 2009.

The Norwegian Pension Fund, which has assets of EURO 273 billion, is the world’s largest sovereign wealth fund after only the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, credited with assets of over EURO 682 billion.

Labels: India, Norway, Sovereign Funds, Stock Market

Iceland secures €200m from Norway, Denmark - by Angela Jameson and Steve Hawkes

Iceland secured €200million (£156million) from Norway and Denmark yesterday as it sought help to stablise its stricken economy, but talks to secure a far larger loan from Russia continued. It also emerged yesterday that the country, which has been forced to nationalise its banking sector, is only one of several asking the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for financial assistance. According to reports, Hungary, Ukraine and Serbia have signalled that they need help, too.

Labels: Denmark, Iceland, Norway, World Economy

Norway plans to use some of its vast sovereign wealth fund to develop sustainable energy. Despite being flush with oil, an unspecified proportion of Norway’s USD 400 billion savings account called the Government Pension Fund is being earmarked for investment in environmental projects that not everyone in the government approves of. As one of Europe’s main producers of gas and oil, Norway has decided it has an ethical obligation to help reduce carbon emissions. Carbon capture and storage is a particularly hot issue right now. Deputy Finance Minister Henriette Westhrin recently told a conference on green energy that “we believe we see a trend developing among large, institutional investors in the direction of setting up smaller funds earmarked for special purposes [such as] environmental issues.”

Norway’s banks, which safeguard the fund and have quite different opinions on how the sovereign fund should be used, don’t share Westhrin’s passion for balancing the nation’s oil and gas windfalls with investment into sustainable energy research. A battle appears to be forming in Norway between conscientious visionaries and traditional investment bankers. But Westhrin is standing firm on her position that Norway has an obligation to give back.

Labels: Alternative Energy, Norway, Renewable Energy

Norway - Disagreement over WTO negotiations

The Farmers' Union (Bondelaget) claims 40,000 jobs will disappear if Norway agrees to the new proposed WTO agreement. At the same time Brekk says that Norwegian farmers will have to reckon with lower import tax on various farm produce.

Labels: Norway, WTO

Wind power could make Norway Europe's battery - by Alister Doyle

Norway could become "Europe's battery" by developing huge sea-based wind parks costing up to $44 billion by 2025, Norway's Oil and Energy Minister said on Monday. Norway's Energy Council, comprising business leaders and officials, said green exports could help the European Union reach a goal of getting 20 percent of its electricity by 2020 from renewable sources such as wind, solar, hydro or wave power.

Labels: Alternative Energy Resources, Europe, Norway

Indians top list of foreign skilled professionals in Norway

India has become the number one source of foreign skilled professionals working in Norway, with fellow colleagues from other countries faring way behind. According to Norwegian Immigration Department figures for 2007, Indian skilled professionals constitute one-fourth of the total foreign qualified professionals inducted in Norwegian firms in the given year. Employed mostly in sectors like IT, petroleum and health care, the figure stood at 618 the highest from any foreign nation, followed by Russia (254), US (231) and China (205).

Labels: Immigration, India, Norway

VIP guests at opening of Norway's new opera house

Norway is celebrating the opening of a new national opera house and to mark the occasion it has invited some notable guests from abroad. German Chancellor Angela Merkel was among those at the inauguration of the futuristic structure on the shores of the Oslo Fjord. She joined royalty from Norway, Denmark and Sweden for a gala first night performance.

The construction of the white marble building marks the realisation of a long-held dream in the Nordic nation. Built at a cost of more than 500 million euros, the opera house is set to become a major architectural landmark.

Labels: Culture, Europe, Norway

Four times more crime in Oslo than New York

The crime rate in Oslo has been growing at an alarming rate and recent statistics show the Norwegian capital had 20 percent more robberies last year than in 2006.While crime in the rest of Norway has been going down, it has been quite another situation in Oslo, where personal and automobile thefts increased markedly last year.Oslo had the highest rate per person in Scandinavia in terms of reported crimes, with 90 reported crimes per 1,000. Copenhagen had 50 crimes reported per 1,000 and Stockholm had 79. In New York, there were 22 reported crimes per 1,000 inhabitants. This means there were four times as many reported crimes per person in Oslo as in New York. The Oslo police are blaming the increase on an influx of East Europeans, and Minister of Justice Knut Storberget is reportedly partly in agreement.However, Storberget said it is necessary to be careful drawing parallels with such statistics.

Note EU-Digest: Statistics like this are similar to comparing two people of which one has a large number injuries on his/her body needing immediate treatment while the other has no outward signs of injury, but has slow terminal liver cancer which one day could kill him/her. Regardless, it must be said that reports like this are good reading material for all those cocky Europeans who believe Europe is the Walhalla on earth."

Labels: Crime, New York, Norway

Norway's c.bank keeps rate steady at 5.25 pct

Norway's central bank held its main interest rate steady at 5.25 percent on Wednesday as forecast by analysts , with a brisk domestic economy offset by weaker global growth prospects. The bank was unswayed by a surprise U.S. Federal Reserve rate cut of 75 basis points on Tuesday. Eleven economists in a Reuters poll last week unanimously predicted that Norges Bank would keep rates unchanged. The bank has raised the deposit rate 14 times from an all-time low of 1.75 percent in mid-2005 in a bid to maintain stability and avoid overheating in a booming economy. Some analysts say the Norwegian tightening cycle has come to an end, but others have forecast one or two more 25 basis points increases this year.

Labels: Economy, Norway

Young Swedes Flock to Newly Rich Norway for Work - by Ivar Ekman

Long a poor cousin in Scandinavia, Norway has surpassed Sweden to become one of the richest countries in the world — to the point where it has become a magnet for young Swedes ready to work hard to make quick money, and lots of it. “When I was young, Swedes had whiter teeth, clearer skin, Abba and Bjorn Borg. We had lots of fish, and not much more,” said Thomas Hylland Eriksen, a professor of social anthropology at the University of Oslo, “Today, Swedes have been cut down to size,” he said. “And I would say that many Norwegians enjoy the fact that so many Swedes are here doing menial jobs.” The number of Swedes living and working in Norway almost doubled between 1990 and 2007 and is now about 35,000. Studies have shown that the number of Swedes commuting to work in Norway has also grown quickly.

Most Swedes who come are 18 through 25, and are prepared to work hard. Mikael Svensson, a Swede who recruits countrymen for the staffing company Adecco, said Swedes are very popular among Norwegian employers. Many, like Jenny Eriksson, 22, pack food in warehouses. Others, like Sofia Falk, 21, and Pernilla Bergstrom, 19, work in the restaurant industry. Both admit that they were drawn here by the money — 120 to 250 kronor, or $22 to $46, per hour for the kind of jobs most Swedes do, close to double the pay in Sweden.

Labels: EU, Norway, Sweden

Walter Mondale to be Norway's Consul General in Minneapolis

Former US Vice President Walter F. Mondale has, at the request of Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Store, agreed to be Norway's Honorary Consul General in Minneapolis.Over the next few weeks, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will, together with Mr Mondale, establish the practical framework for his tasks and the continued work to set up the Consulate General in Minneapolis so that it will be able to maintain and further develop the important ties between Norway and the Midwest.

Walter Mondale (79) was US Vice President from 1977 to 1981, and presidential candidate for the Democrats in 1984. He was US Ambassador to Japan from 1993 to 1996. From 1964 to 1976, he represented Minnesota in the Senate. He has also been Attorney General of the state of Minnesota. He has close ties to Norway. His family originally comes from Mundal on the west coast of Norway. He has, for many years, been a member of the Executive Committee of the Nobel Peace Prize Forum, which holds annual conferences with the support of the Norwegian Nobel Committee. He has a law degree and has worked as a lawyer for many years.

Labels: Norway, Walter Mondale

Norway: Kurdish Islamist Krekar exploits the system - by Adrian Morgan

Mullah Krekar is designated as an international terrorist with links to Al Qaeda. Yet in Norway, European politically correct legal principles protect his "safety" while he continues to use the internet to urge killing and war. Mullah Krekar was born as Najmuddin Faraj Ahmad in the village of Olaqloo Sharbajer, Sulaimania in Kurdish northern Iraq on July 7, 1956. He has been living in Norway as a "refugee" since 1991, being granted asylum in 1992. He graduated from Sulaimania College in 1982, after studying Arabic. He studied Islamic jurisprudence (fiqh) in Sindh in Pakistan, under the tutelage of Abdullah Azzam, the mentor of Osama bin Laden and a suspected co-founder of Al Qaeda. This week, Krekar has been attending Norway's Supreme Court in Oslo, while appealing against an order to have him deported. His battles against deportation have gone on since 2002. He officially lost his "refugee" status in August 2002 but has resisted all attempts at deportation. In 2003, the Norwegian immigration department, UDI, decided that Krekar was a threat to national security, and that he had given incorrect information to immigration officials. Krekar appealed their decision. They also decided that his refugee status should be stripped and his travel documents, work and residence permits taken away. Krekar appealed again, and in March 2005 the UDI reiterated its 2003 decision.

rekar is said to have founded Ansar al Islam with financial support from Al Qaeda. The "seed money" for funding has been estimated as $300,000 to $600,000. Ansar al-Islam's main opponents have been members of the secular Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK). In February 2003, Ansar Islam members killed Shawkat Hajji Mushir, founder of the PUK. A US State Department report from April 2003 entitled "Patterns of Global Terrorism 2002 states (pp 128-9) that the group is closely affiliated with Al Qaeda, and has provided shelter to Al Qaeda fighters fleeing Afghanistan. Ansar al-Islam was then boasting og its production of toxins - ricin, aflatoxins and cyanide.

Labels: Kurdish PKK terrorists, Mullah Krekar, Norway, Terrorism

Norwegians take in the sun in Spain on doctors' orders

Each year dozens of Norwegians flock to the coastal Spanish town of Altea to get Oslo-funded treatment at a rehabilitation centre for problems ranging from rheumatism to fractured bones.Except for a daily supplement of 15 euros (20 US dollars), the entire cost of their stay is covered by oil-rich Norway's well-developed social security net. This is a rare exception to a growing health tourism that officials say is putting a strain on facilities as residents from other EU states -- seeking to circumvent long waits or higher costs at home -- come to Spain knowing they are entitled to benefit from the country's free healthcare system. Except for the sun, nothing at the rehabilitation centre would lead you to think you were in Spain. The medical staff is Scandinavian as are the cooks while signs are all in Norwegian.

Labels: Europe, Healthcare, Norway

Norsk Hydro discovers oil and gas off Norway

Norsk Hydro ASA struck oil and natural gas reserves about 125 kilometres off the western Norway city of Bergen, the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate announced yesterday.The strike was described as minor although no estimate was given for its size. It said field partners may link the oil-and-gas reserve to existing production facilities at the nearby Fram field, also operated by Norsk Hydro.

Labels: Natural Gas, Norway, Oil Exploration

Wealth Divides 2 Arctic Mining Towns - by Alister Doyle

The Russian and Norwegian miners and their families live on the same island 40 kilometers apart, separated by a snow-covered mountain range that marks one of the greatest wage divides in the world for doing the same job. Norwegian miners can earn up to euro 80.000 per year, more than 10 times the pay of a Russian miner, Norwegian officials say. Norway administers Svalbard, but other nations can exploit natural resources under a 1920 treaty.

Russian miners in the village of Barentsburg, which boasts a big, heated indoor swimming pool and a bust of Lenin on the main square, declined to say precisely how much they earned. Still, miners in Barentsburg, operated by state firm Arktikugol, say they also enjoy Arctic life, even if expectations are lower. The islands are bathed in the midnight sun for almost half the year, with darkness for most of the rest.

Labels: Barentsburg, Norway, Russia, Svalbard

Norway: 3400 Year Old shoe discovered

Analysis of the leather shoe showed it to be 3,400 years old, says Oppland County Archaeologist Espen Finstad to Aftenposten. This means that not only is it Norway's oldest shoe, but also the oldest piece of Norwegian "clothing" discovered so far.

The shoe therefore dates back to old bronze age, roughly from 1800 to 1100 years before Christ. In the same area were also found several complete arrows and a spade made from wood.

Labels: archeology, Norway

Norway - Building standards: Domesticating solar power - by Tonje Berg-Dawson

The energy coming from the sun is 15.000 times greater than what we humans consume. Each year. The energy gifted from the sun is many times larger than the earths total energy reserves. It seems foolish to pass up a good thing, especially when the good thing is a perfect source of energy.

The market for solar energy in the EU, and around the world, is growing rapidly. Germany is now the worlds most developed solar energy country. But it is not carved in stone that it has to stay that way. The Nordic region is the only place in the world where the sun shines at midnight. Of course the sun is ours for the taking.

Labels: Europe, Norway, Solar Energy

Selling oil is easier than investing ethically, Norway finds - by Mark Lander

OSLO: For a people whose deep national pride is bestowing the Nobel Peace Prize, Norwegians are developing a reputation for throwing sharp elbows. And the country is doing it in an unexpected way: by pulling investments out of Wal-Mart and other companies for what it claims are ethical failings.

Last June, Norway added Wal-Mart Stores to its blacklist, alleging that the retailer was guilty of tolerating child-labor violations by its suppliers in the developing world and obstructing unions at home. The fund sold off more than $400 million worth of Wal-Mart shares.

Labels: Ethical standards, Norway

Norway to host first-ever eco-tourism conference in May

The International Ecotourism Society (TIES), Ecotourism Norway and The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) will organise the first-ever Global Eco-tourism Conference in Oslo, Norway from May 14 -16, 2007. TIES will be partnering with a national or regional eco-tourism association for this conference every five years starting 2007.

Labels: Ecotourism, Europe, Norway

Energy Policy: A Norwegian Perspective-by Olav Akselsen, MP

The upcoming 15th Session of the UN Commission on Sustainable Development that will take place in May and which has Energy as its focal theme. Energy is the focal theme because of its importance for efforts to reach the Millennium Development Goals following up the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg in 2002. Energy remains a key vehicle to promote sustainable economic and social development within a more equitable world order.

Norway has ambitious goals regarding capture, use and storage of CO2. In order to realise CCS technologies as soon as possible, the Norwegian government and Statoil have agreed to establish the world's largest full-scale CCS project in conjunction with a projected combined heat and power plant at Mongstad oil refinery in Norway. It will be fully operational by the end of 2014. We are developing groundbreaking new technology, which can become an export item and a guarantee for future petroleum activities in Norway.

Labels: Alternative Energy Resources, Environment, Norway

IMF pleased with Norwegian economy

In its preliminary report on the Norwegian economy, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) points outh that inflation is low, employment growth is near record high. and the outlook for the near term looks bright.

According to the statement, the Norwegian economy has performed enviably, underpinned by a strong macroeconomic and monetary policy framework. Despite that the Norwegian economy is entering its fourth consecutive year of above-trend growth, inflation is low and employment growth is near record high. The outlook for the near term looks bright, supported by continued strong global demand and high oil prices.

Labels: Economy, IMF, Norway

Norway ends Palestinian boycott

A one-year-old diplomatic boycott of the Palestinian government has been eased after a Norwegian diplomat met the Palestinian prime minister in Gaza. Western powers imposed an economic and diplomatic blockade in March 2006 in a bid to pressure the ruling Hamas group to recognise Israel, renounce violence and accept interim peace deals.

But Norway, which is not a member of the European Union, restored full relations with the Palestinian Authority on Monday after Ismail Haniya's Hamas movement and Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah faction formed a unity government on Saturday. Raymond Johansen, Norway's deputy foreign minister, said: "We hope that all the European countries, and even other countries, will ... support this unity government.

Labels: Europe, Norway, Palestine, Peace negotiations