Leaders gathered at KPMG Norway’s downtown offices for AmCham’s quarterly Financial Forum. Reflecting on his own observations over the past years’ “Norwegian IPO Frenzy,” our forum was kicked off by Geir Bjørlo, Partner at Corporate Communications. With 100 listings since 2020, the pace has now slowed to only a handful due to current uncertainty.

Oslo Børs is hotter than Nasdaq and London. Oslo Børs holds a unique position internationally and is world-leading within the energy, shipping and seafood sectors, making Norway a preferred country for IPOs – as international stakeholders trust Norway’s financial institutions and methods.

Most of the Norwegian IPOs are related to sustainable investments and “energy capital” considerations. More listings are expected to take place post-summer, with the next window occurring in September through October.

“Uplisting” has been a buzzword over the past 12 months, says Bjørlo, referring to the process of listing an existing public stock on a major exchange. For example, transferring the listing venue from Euronext Growth to the main list on Oslo Børs. Uplisting reflects the company’s growth ambitions and shareholder base while contributing to increased visibility and access to a larger investor audience.

It has been very common for companies going public to announce targets for their projected earnings in 2025 rather than their actual past performance since a lot of companies still don’t have meaningful revenues. This practice is not usual on the NYSE for example.

Bjørlo walked participants through the “IPO toolbox,” illustrating how to build a trustworthy and credible company, as well as how to avoid post-listing value destruction. “ESG reporting is where accounting was in the 50’s,” suggesting there is still much work to be done in making ESG reporting more sophisticated.

Norway continues to be a preferred country for investments in seafood, shipping and energy, with the latter now branching to renewables in addition to “traditional” energy markets.