Global Courant
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Shareholdership of politicians has become a hot topic after Ola Borten Moe of the Center Party resigned as research and higher education minister following E24’s case over the minister’s conduct in the partly state-owned Kongsberg group. Borten Moe admitted to violating government stock purchase and integrity rules.
The rules for stock purchases state that government politicians in general must be extra careful when trading stocks to ensure confidence. But neither members of the government nor other politicians in the Storting are prohibited from trading shares.
The Storting’s property register shows that more than 20 more and less well-known politicians are invested in individual shares on Oslo Børs. Some with rather thick stock portfolios.
DN compiled the list and researched which stocks the politicians like best.
Salmon on the menu
Topping the list is the world’s largest salmon farmer, Norway’s Mowi, whose largest owner is billionaire shipping magnate John Fredriksen. Of the politicians in the Storting who own listed individual stocks, six own Mowi.
The article continues below the adFurther down the list we find Telenor, Kahoot, Hydro, Orkla and Aker Horizons. They all have four Storting politicians on the owner’s side.
The third most popular companies, with three owners, are Norwegian, Orkla, Rec Silicon, Storebrand, Sparebank 1 SMN and SAS.
In the property register as of June, you will find a total of 87 companies listed on Oslo Børs among the 24 Storting politicians listed with ownership shares. This means that Norwegian elected representatives in the Storting own more than a quarter of the shares in Oslo Børs.
– Watertight bulkheads
Among those with the most listed shares is Nikolai Astrup from Høyre.
Astrup, son of shipowner and investor Eivind Astrup, owns a quarter of the family business Pactum as and is the richest representative in the Storting with an estimated net worth of NOK 353 million in 2021. Most of the shares that Astrup has brought to market are owned through Pactum.
Astrup does not want to talk about shared dispositions, but likes to talk about competence.
– It is important to distinguish between representatives of the Storting and ministers. When I was a minister I resigned from all functions and positions in the companies I am involved in and I had watertight barriers between me and the companies. As a representative of the Deposit, you are not subject to the jurisdiction rules. The information we get is public knowledge, unlike when you’re in government, he says.
The article continues below the adProfessors called for a ban on stock trading for members of the government on Monday.
– When we were in government, you had the choice: sell the shares, freeze the shareholding during the period that you are in office or close the administration. I believe that the rules we had before the Solberg government could have applied regardless of the government. It could well be formalized, says Astrup.
Out of stock
Frps Sivert Bjørnstad, like Astrup, is listed with about 20 listed Norwegian shares, according to the registry. In 2021, Bjørnstad had a net worth of just over NOK 60 million. The money comes from the legacy of the family business. The portfolio includes several Aker companies and savings banks.
Sivert Bjornstad (Frp). (Photo: Terje Bendiksby)This is followed by two more FRP members: Helge André Njåstad and Marius Arion Nilsen. Both are listed with ownership in a double-digit number of publicly traded shares. Njåstad has shares in the fish companies Austevoll, Mowi, Grieg and Salmar, among others. Nilsen is listed with stocks such as BerGenBio, PCI Biotech, Everfuel, Nordic Mining and Kahoot.
Now Nilsen’s stock is smaller.
– I sold most of it. Now I only have four shares. I’ve been a bit pessimistic on behalf of the market. I expected it to be a little less, he says.
– Can you beat the market?
– Not so recently. It’s been very bad. There wasn’t much to brag about.
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– Have you considered a broad index fund?
– That’s probably the way it goes. I now have much less time to follow up than before I came to the Deposit.
The only two others with a double-digit number of stocks in portfolio are Terje Halleland (Frp) and Erlend Larsen (H).(Conditions)Copyright Dagens Næringsliv AS and/or our suppliers. We would like you to share our cases through links that lead directly to our pages. Copying or other use of any part of the content may only take place with written permission or as permitted by law. For further conditions see here.
Calls for share rules to be as strict as the Solberg government: – It could well be formalised
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