Norway’s OSM Aviation, a recruitment and training firm partly-owned by low-cost carrier Norwegian Air, has ordered 60 all-electric training planes from Colorado-based aircraft manufacturer Bye Aerospace to cut flight costs.
Read entire article HERE.
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Reuters: Norway offers to postpone 5G frequency payments to boost investment
OSLO — Norway will offer telecoms operators to postpone payments for mobile phone frequencies, including 5G networks, in return for investment commitments, the government said on Thursday. Read full story HERE.
2019 AGM & Transatlantic Business Assembly
Oslo’s new Hotel Amerikalinjen was host to AmCham Norway’s 2019 Annual General Meeting and Transatlantic Business Assembly, an afternoon that highlighted a strong year for AmCham, built the foundation for continued growth through 2019, and highlighted the challenges and opportunities of doing business in Norway.
ManpowerGroup’s Maalfrid Brath, Nasdaq’s Adam Kostyál, Roche Norway’s Rajji Mehdwan, Cisco’s Sandeep Mehra, and Member of Parliament Heidi Norby Lunde headlined the Transatlantic Business Assembly, sharing their insights through a series of keynote speeches and a highly engaging panel discussion.
The day concluded with a reception in Amerikalinjen’s stunning Haven courtyard, featuring lively conversation, American-inspired food, and a wide range of American wines.
AmCham’s 2019 Transatlantic Business Assembly: Growing Challenges – New Opportunities
Gustav, Amerikalinjen’s New York inspired jazz club, provided an intimate setting for this year’s assembly, with each of the five ranking speakers providing a short address for attendees.
Maalfrid Brath was first up, noting that while ManpowerGroup is indeed a US-parented company, its deep local roots make it feel Norwegian. Brath, Manpower’s Regional Director for the Nordics & Baltics, then highlighted the growing challenge of attracting top global talent to Norway. “We are in a world championship, not a Norwegian one,” she said as she discussed the importance of education and professional development.
Brath was succeeded by Nasdaq’s Stockholm-based Senior Vice President of Listing Services for Europe, Adam Kostyál. Kostyál highlighted Nasdaq’s ability to leverage its worldwide exchanges as platforms for Nordic SME growth, thus empowering Norway’s economic future.
Roche Norway General Manger and AmCham Board Member Rajji Mehdwan followed. Drawing parallels with another AmCham member, Mehdwan noted that, “Tesla’s mission is to save the planet – ours is to save patients’ lives.” Highlighting Roche’s industry-leading 20% of revenue spent on R&D, she then focused upon the importance of sustainable procurement, market access, and the growing need for healthcare companies to invest in technology.
Serving as a perfect segue to the next assembly speaker, Cisco’s Sandeep Mehra addressed the importance of talent and agility on the global marketplace, expanding on the importance of using technology to simplify global operations. He also touched on the high quality of talent in Norway and the productivity of the country’s workforce, calling Norway a “well-kept secret,” before stating proudly, “We build world class technologies here!”
Member of Parliament Heidi Nordby Lunde provided the final engaging keynote, rounding out with a unique, government perspective.
Nordby Lunde made a strong case for why international companies should invest in Norway despite its high cost of doing business. “If you want skilled workers, you want to invest in a country that invests in education,” she noted, highlighting Norway’s strong performance in global rankings and its commitment to talent development.
Keynote Speakers & Panelists
Maalfrid Brath
Regional Managing Director, Nordics & Baltics
Adam Kostyál
Senior Vice President of Listing Services, Europe
Rajji Mehdwan
Managing Director, Norway
Sandeep Mehra
Vice President & General Manager, Webex Devices & Telepresence
Heidi Nordby Lunde
Member of Parliament & Leader of Oslo Høyre
Panel Discussion
Presenting leaders then came together for a panel discussion moderated by AmCham Managing Director Jason Turflinger. The first question, “When you speak to headquarters about Norway, how easy or difficult is it to make the case for expanding your operations here?” kicked off a dynamic, highly engaging conversation.
“Headquarters thinks, ‘Why should we invest more in Norway when you see the way some politicians attack us, with increasingly harsh regulatory frameworks?’” responded one participant.
“It’s getting harder,” added another. “I fight very hard for investment to Norway. Historically we looked favorably upon Norway, but now – it’s getting challenging.”
The challenges Norway faced, according to the panel, were twofold.
Among the Nordics, panelists argued that Norway faces an uphill climb in comparison to its entrepreneurially minded neighbors, noting issues with market access and regulatory schemes, in addition to weak public-private partnerships.
Globally, panelists noted that the cost of doing business in Norway is increasingly becoming an issue. With countries such as China, India, and the Eastern European states combining increasingly well-educated, low-cost workforces with a willingness to offer companies significant incentives for investment, Norway will have to be more innovative in attracting foreign investment.
The tone, however, was generally quite optimistic.
One participant noted that when officials for the US Securities and Exchange Commission met with their corporate leadership, they asked, “Why are the Nordics so successful in terms of SMEs?”
Another highlighted that while Norway has a high cost of doing business, employees are two times as productive as in almost any other country. Productivity and innovation capacity, they argued, must factor into any cost-benefit analysis.
Touching on global political trends and increased political polarization in Norway, Heidi Nordby Lunde implored business leaders to engage politicians.
“Ask politicians to meet with you – we will come!,” she said, going on to note the particular importance of capitalizing on this fall’s municipal elections, “Make people aware of the value you create in this city and in this nation – that is really important.”
Charting a Course for Continued Growth: AmCham’s 2019 AGM
AmCham Annual General Meeting presentations from Chairman and Citi Norway Head Pål Rokke, Treasurer Michael Klem, and Managing Director Jason Turflinger highlighted a preceding year of multiple new initiates and laid out AmCham’s strategic goals for the coming months.
Turflinger also touched upon AmCham’s expanding range of member services as making the organization distinct among local business groups, focusing particularly on AmCham’s long-term advocacy work. As “the voice of international business,” Turflinger noted that AmCham Norway has developed the competence and capacity to respond to the expanding needs of its diverse membership.
Importantly, AmCham members approved the association’s 2019-2020 Board of Directors during the AGM, unanimously welcoming Marianne Aasen aboard, a Director at Simula School. Turflinger went on to express gratitude and appreciation to departing Board members Kathryn Baker, Lena Nymo Helli, and Sven Thaulow.
Marianne Aasen
New AmCham Board Memmber & Director of SSRI at Simula
Canapé Reception at Amerikalinjen's Haven
Bloomberg: Shell to Leave Oil Lobby Group Over Climate Policy Concerns
Royal Dutch Shell Plc’s position on climate change is misaligned with about half of the trade associations it’s a part of, and the disagreement with one is so severe the company will let its membership lapse next year.
The findings were issued in a first-of-its-kind report on whether the company’s association with lobbying groups is undermining its work on climate change. The report is likely to reverberate across the industry, with most of Shell’s peers also members of the same groups and already facing enormous pressure from shareholders to line up their business models with the Paris climate accord.
Read entire article HERE.
World Oil: Petroleum Activity in the High North report shows significant value in Barents Sea
STAVANGER — The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate has presented the report Petroleum Activity in the High North. The report places the petroleum activity in the High North into a historical, international and technological framework.
“We hope the report can contribute in a knowledge-based approach to the debate,” says Director General Bente Nyland, who presented the report at the Barents Sea conference.
Petroleum activity has taken place in the High North since the first exploration wells were drilled near the coast in the Laptev Sea in Russia in the 1930s. In Norway, petroleum activities in the north started in 1979, and production started from the Snøhvit field in 2007.
Norway is one of five Arctic coastal states, but due to the Gulf Stream, most of our sea areas remain ice-free year-round. The climate in the High North in Canada, the U.S., Russia and Greenland is considerably more challenging, with ice sheets partly or completely covering the area throughout the year.
Read entire article HERE.
CleanTechnia: Tesla Takes 31% Of Norway’s Total Passenger Auto Sales In March
Tesla sold around 5,700 vehicles in Norway in March, of total new passenger car sales for the month of 18,375. That’s around 31% of the market.
Fully electric cars (BEVs) as a whole amounted to over 58% of Norway’s total new auto market, another record. With hybrids (both plugged and non-plugged) taking another 19%, this left only 23% market share for pure-fossil autos.
This means that Tesla significantly outsold all pure-fossil autos in Norway in March. The fossils are quickly becoming extinct.
Norway’s Road Traffic Information Council published figures recording a total of 10,732 new BEV registrations in March, some 58.4% market share. They also recorded that 5,315 Tesla Model 3s were registered in March.
Read entire article HERE.
Norwegian Seafood Council: Best ever first quarter for Norwegian seafood exports
Norway exported 640,000 tonnes of seafood with an export value of NOK 25.6 billion in the first quarter of 2019. This represents is a decline in volume of 18 per cent but a growth in value of 7 per cent or NOK 1.8 billion measured against the first quarter of 2018. The volume decline was just 2% when the pelagic category is excluded from the statistics.
“The volume decline in the pelagic category is due to lack of capelin this year, in addition to delays in the reporting of blue whiting from direct landings abroad”, says seafood analyst Paul T. Aandahl with the Norwegian Seafood Council.
“The value of seafood exports in the first quarter have reached a record high. This is mainly driven by increased prices for several of our most important species. There are good, stable market conditions, increased demand in our key markets, and a weak Norwegian kroner against both the US dollar and the euro sets a record price for seafood exports”, says seafood analyst Ingrid K. Pettersen with the Norwegian Seafood Council.
Norway exported 205,400 tonnes of seafood at a value of NOK 9.1 billion in March. This is a decline in volume of 36 per cent and an increase in value of 1 per cent or NOK 89 million compared with March last year.
Read entire article HERE.
AmCham Member Company Profile: Next Step & the Executive Growth Alliance
Next Step Growth & the Executive Growth Alliance
AmCham Member Company Profile
Executive Growth Alliance Brings Silicon Valley Experience to Norway and Beyond
After leading international growth for Oslo-based Tandberg, Silicon Valley veteran Jennifer Vessels founded Next Step in 2000 to maximize clients’ revenue and results.
Since then, the firm’s global team of forty consultants has helped companies, including AmCham members Avinor, Cisco, and Eli Lilly, expand, scale, define new business models, and transform leadership approaches to succeed in a digital future.
Disruption of Business as Usual Demands Power of Peers for Leadership Success
While leading business transformation for Adobe in mid-2000’s, Jennifer recognized that many clients were facing similar challenges related to innovation and leadership in a business climate increasingly characterized by technological disruption. Building on a proven ‘power of peers’ model which she leveraged when growing Next Step, she formed the Executive Growth Alliance (EGA) in Silicon Valley in 2015.
The Alliance’s mission – to maximize business growth and future-readiness through a proven power of peers process of shared learning and innovation, collaboration, and leadership development.
By participating in regular Executive Growth Forums facilitated by Next Step, 12-14 business leaders in non-competitive companies tackle specific challenges, learn from one another, develop avenues for intra-industry collaboration, and inspire innovation.
Through the Executive Growth Alliance, executives also build a trusted global network – sharing knowledge, resources, and thought leadership across industries and regional chapters.
The end result: members achieve enhanced revenue growth, increased productivity, better corporate decision making, business model transformation, and increased executive confidence in future readiness.
Norway Expansion is Executive Growth Alliance’s Bridge to Europe
In late 2016, Vessels observed that Next Step’s Norwegian clients were asking the same questions about innovation and leadership as their American peers. Although open dialogue and collaboration between leaders of different companies in Norway had been, historically speaking, quite rare, she saw a possible opportunity to explore expansion of the Executive Growth Alliance across the Atlantic.
Based on the need for collaboration and innovation across the Norwegian transportation sector, Next Step organized a pilot Norwegian Transportation Executive Growth Forum in early 2017.
“During this session, there was initial skepticism and hesitancy to speak openly compared to members in our American forums,” she noted in an interview with AmCham’s Tyler Barrott, before adding, “At the end of the session, however, participants expressed strong interest in follow-on sessions. After the next Executive Growth Forum, sharing and collective learning really began to flow.”
Within a year, actions and results also began to flow, leading to the co-creation (design, development, and pilot) of a new digital service by Avinor and Posten – through their collaboration within the Executive Growth Alliance.
Building from the success of the Executive Growth Alliance Norway Transportation, Next Step launched groups and held Executive Growth Forums for companies in the smart environment, consumer/retail, industrial, and health eco-systems. Since the initial EGF in 2017, Next Step has facilitated twenty-six Executive Growth Forums in Norway. Members in each of the five groups consistently gain insights, collaboration partners, and opportunities to co-create future success.
There was initial skepticism and hesitancy to speak openly compared to members in our American forums. At the end of the session, however, participants expressed strong interest in follow-on sessions. After the next Executive Growth Forum, sharing and collective learning really began to flow.
Jennifer Vessels
CEO - Next Step
Next Steps for the EGA
To extend the local power of peers globally, Next Step is currently planning its annual Innovation Expedition to Silicon Valley in September 2019. This will allow a select number of Norwegian EGA members to collaborate with Silicon Valley’s foremost thought leaders, in addition to researching concepts such as ‘building an innovation culture’ and the ‘application of AI/quantum computing and blockchain on transportation, city planning, and customer engagement.’
After successfully adapting the Executive Growth Alliance to deliver results in Norway, Europe is the next frontier. Next Step held their first British Executive Growth Forum in London in late 2018, with strong interest for future sessions. In addition, Jennifer is already thinking ahead to establish Executive Growth Alliance chapters in Helsinki, Amsterdam, Brussels, Hamburg, Cape Town, and Tel Aviv.
Jennifer’s facilitation skills and insight gained from Next Step’s industry-specific Executive Growth Forums has made her a valuable asset in the development of AmCham’s cross-industry digitalization forum series, where she is a regular participant and moderator.
Press Release: DNV GL supports Norwegian transmission operator Statnett in connecting renewable energy to the grid
ARNHEM, the Netherlands, 28 March 2019 – DNV GL has been selected by the Norwegian transmission system operator Statnett to provide electrical design services for the development of a new composite high-voltage transmission tower. The project is part of Statnett’s Research and Development programme ‘Lean Line’, which is designed to build power lines in a safer, faster and cheaper way, to enable easier integration of renewable energy from remote locations into the European power grid.
Statnett will be among the first companies in the world to develop composite towers for 420kV high-voltage overhead lines. Traditionally, composite towers have been utilized for systems between 110 and 150 kV systems. As part of the project, DNV GL will provide assistance to Statnett in developing a new electrical design, adhering to specific Norwegian requirements and aspects.
“It is important that the projects we support underpin our R&D programme’s main goal which is to improve energy security by 20%, reduce costs by 20% and reduce construction time by 20%”, says Oddgeir Kaspersen, Program Manager Innovative Technology at Statnett. “To do so, you need technical expertise as the devil can be in the detail. DNV GL’s experience in innovative tower design, specifically electrical design, enables us to create a safe and reliable concept for our composite high-voltage tower.”
Prajeev Rasiah, Executive Vice President, Northern Europe, Middle East and Africa, DNV GL – Energy added: “To realise the full potential of the power generation from renewable sources, optimisation of grid infrastructures is vital. Having worked in electrical design for high-voltage transmission towers for more than 50 years, we are looking forward to supporting Statnett with our knowledge and expertise in this field, to enable the connection and integration of renewable energy into the grid.”
DNV GL’s grid experts focus on the safety and reliability aspects of the transmission tower by developing insulation coordination, earthing/grounding, electrical stress testing and safety design. The new electrical design will be finalized by the end of 2019, and the validation tests are scheduled for 2020. The construction and operation of the pilot phase is scheduled for 2021.
DNV GL’s annual Energy Transition Outlook report forecasts that the rise of wind and solar will drive major expansion of transmission and distribution systems. The report finds that the expansion of the world’s power lines will more than triple by 2050, both in length and capacity. This substantial infrastructure expansion is largely driven by the growth of renewable energy generation, often in remote locations, which needs to be connected to the local, regional, national and international power grid. Renewable energy assets are often based in remote locations. As the sector grows and reliance on renewable energy increases, smarter design of power infrastructure is required to make expansion of the grid safer, faster and more cost-effective. The high-voltage tower project has also been a part of the ‘Best Paths project’, a European consortium that aims to develop novel network technologies to increase the transmission network capacity and flexibility at pan-European level while maintaining system reliability.
About DNV GL
DNV GL is a global quality assurance and risk management company. Driven by our purpose of safeguarding life, property and the environment, we enable our customers to advance the safety and sustainability of their business. We provide classification, technical assurance, software and independent expert advisory services to the maritime, oil & gas, power and renewables industries. We also provide certification and supply chain services to customers across a wide range of industries. Operating in more than 100 countries, our experts are dedicated to helping customers make the world safer, smarter and greener.
DNV GL in the power and renewables industry
DNV GL delivers world-renowned testing and advisory services to the energy value chain including renewables and energy management. Our expertise spans onshore and offshore wind power, solar, conventional generation, transmission and distribution, smart grids, and sustainable energy use, as well as energy markets and regulations. Our experts support customers around the globe in delivering a safe, reliable, efficient, and sustainable energy supply.
Learn more at www.dnvgl.com/power-renewables.
Regjeringen: Tar sikte på å innføre dobbelt statsborgerskap fra januar 2020
I fjor vedtok Stortinget regjeringens forslag om å åpne for dobbelt statsborgerskap. Kunnskapsdepartementet tar sikte på at endringene i statsborgerloven trer i kraft fra 1. januar 2020. Endringen gjør at nordmenn kan beholde det norske statsborgerskapet sitt, selv om de blir statsborgere i et annet land.
Det samme vil gjelde utenlandske statsborgere som fyller vilkårene for å få et norsk statsborgerskap. Norske borgere som har mistet det norske statsborgerskapet sitt da de fikk statsborgerskap i et annet land, kan på en enkel måte få tilbake det norske statsborgerskapet sitt.
Norge måtte si opp deler av Europarådskonvensjonen av 6. mai 1963 for å kunne endre reglene. Oppsigelsen har virkning ett år fra den ble meddelt Europarådet. Norges oppsigelse ble meddelt 18. desember 2018 og vil få virkning fra 19. desember 2019.