All posts by Margrethe Harboe

The port town in Norway emerging as an AI hub

Business News, Technology

Oslo, Norway – In a fjord more than 200 kilometers north of the Arctic Circle, three companies are collaborating on a project that will deliver sustainable AI infrastructure for all of Europe. Microsoft, Nscale and Aker have entered into a landmark deal that sees an ambitious new build out of renewable, scalable next generation AI infrastructure in the town of Narvik, worth an estimated $6.2 billion.

A port town once inhabited by Vikings, Narvik will now be connecting Scandinavia and the rest of Europe via its delivery of state-of-the-art AI and cloud services.

The location was chosen for its abundant hydropower and low local electricity demand, because of its small population and transmission capacity. These factors add up to affordable energy prices, complemented by a cool climate and established industrial infrastructure, making Narvik an ideal location for large-scale datacenter operations.

Read full article.

Three Questions with Christian Aho, Citi

AmCham News

THREE QUESTIONS WITH

Christian Aho

COUNTRY OFFICER & HEAD OF BANKING, CITI NORWAY

Prior to becoming Norway’s Citi Country officer, you have served several leadership roles at other leading financial institutions, such as HSBC, NatWest, Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi, and Barclays. What drew you to banking at the start of your career, and what about the industry excites you today?

I grew up in a very small town in Finland and have always had a strong interest in travel, meetings new people and understanding how the world works. The same things still keep me going and interested, I feel like I have unlimited opportunities to learn with the added benefit that I get to meet and interact with people from all over the world, and we are constantly at the forefront of what is happening in global markets and at the core of information flow.

With a presence in Norway for over 50 years, Citi is focused on Norwegian-based multinational companies, financial institutions, the public sector as subsidiaries of foreign multinational companies operating in Norway. Providing support for the shipping industry was key for Citi when doors first opened in 1973; which industries constitute the main focus today?

Our global network and being a strategic partner to our clients is at the core of what we do every day and part of the Citi dna. We continue to support the same sectors today, but also adapting to how the world is changing by focusing on new economy sectors such as tech, digital, AI and renewables. Importantly, we want to ensure that we continue to innovate and be the partner of choice for all of our clients in both their day-to-day banking needs, as well as on strategic and transformative decisions they make.

 

In broad terms, what are the biggest banking industry transformations you foresee in the near, and more distant future?

I think AI will have a profound change on not only financial services but the world as a whole. We are at a very early stage of adoption and still lots to learn but I am very excited about the opportunities. At Citi we are using AI tools in our day to day work and our global leadership is focusing very much on developments.

What is your favorite US travel destination?

NYC because of the people, energy and diversity, and you’re guaranteed to always have a great time. California State because of its beautiful nature and friendly people.

U.S. Chamber of Commerce Comments on Section 232 Investigation of Imports of Wind Turbines and Their Parts and Components

Business News, Energy, Government

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce (“the U.S. Chamber”) appreciates the opportunity to respond to the U.S. Department of Commerce’s request for comments cited above. The Administration has stated it intends to use these comments as part of an investigation to “determine the effects on the national security of imports of wind turbines and their parts and components.”

Ample supplies of affordable electricity is itself a national security imperative, underpinning U.S. defense readiness, advanced manufacturing, and America’s leadership in artificial intelligence. The renewable energy industry assists in addressing this imperative by helping to meet the nation’s surging demand for electricity. The U.S. Chamber strongly supports all forms of energy that can contribute to the reliability and affordability of electricity. This is especially important as our electricity demand is increasing at unprecedented rates due to the imperative that America lead the world in the development of advanced technologies, manufacturing, and artificial intelligence. As such, the U.S. needs to utilize all of the power generation tools available—including natural gas, nuclear, wind, and solar—to support the highest levels of reliability while maintaining affordable electricity rates.

Read full statement.

Equinor explores combining renewables assets with Orsted

Business News, Energy

(Bloomberg) – Equinor ASA Chairman Jon Erik Reinhardsen said the company has an “open mind” about the structure of its partnership with Danish wind developer Orsted A/S, including the possibility of combining their renewable assets. 

“It’s one of many options,” Reinhardsen said on Wednesday, when asked if it would make sense to combine the two companies’ wind assets.

“We will always consider what’s optimum for our shareholders in terms of what structure is best suited here,” he said in an interview on the sidelines of the Pareto Securities energy conference in Oslo. “In what form that ends up being, we have an open mind.”

Orsted shares rose as much as 8.6%, before erasing most of those gains in Copenhagen trading. The stock is down 37% this year. Equinor was little changed.

Read full article here. 

First reuseable US launcher to continental Europe

Business News, Defense / Security

In a groundbreaking development for the European space industry, Andøya Space and Astrobotic Technology, Inc. have signed a landmark Term Sheet for a Launch Site Agreement.

This collaboration marks a significant step towards enhancing commercial space capabilities in Europe, with Astrobotic utilizing Andøya Space as one of its launch and landing sites for its Xodiac reusable rocket campaigns starting in 2026.

The Term Sheet, signed in August 2025, outlines the main terms of the Launch Site Agreement that the parties intend to enter. Andøya Space has developed a state-of-the-art launch site at Andøya, Norway, and Astrobotic is committed to becoming a key partner, using Andøya Space for several of its Xodiac campaigns from continental Europe. Astrobotic plans to perform their initial launch campaign operations from Andøya Space starting in 2026.

This partnership is crucial for maintaining and enhancing the strategic space infrastructure in Europe. The collaboration aims to provide strategic autonomy, increased responsiveness, and faster deployment of new capabilities, benefiting both commercial and government stakeholders.

Read full article.

AmCham Mentorship Program 2nd Group Gathering 2025-26

AmCham News

AmCham Mentorship Program 2nd Group Gathering 2025-26

The AmCham Mentorship Program’s second group gathering featured presentations and an interactive workshop hosted by Dale Carnegie. The session marked the half-way point of the program consisting of 78 participants representing 35 Patron member companies across 16 industries.

Mentorship Event Tile_2nd Group Gathering
Speaker Images_Skarpnord

Rino Skarpnord

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Speaker Images_Blygland

Ingrid Bygland

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Speaker Images_Grupe

Sebastian Grupe

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Speaker Images_Fuglesang

Netti Fuglesang

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A Skills-First Approach in Practice

Rino Skarpnord, Director Learning and Development at Yara, kicked off the session by presenting how the company prioritizes agility, efficiency, equity, performance, future-readiness, and retention by identifying and matching specific employee skills to business needs.

Skarpnord, responsible for skills-first implementation across the 17 000-person organization, highlighted that job titles, educational background and tenure do not tell us enough about what employees do or can do. “The building blocks of a company are the skills of the people.” He explained that by utilizing the existing human capital within the company, you can “build something else, with the same blocks.” Leaders are essentially operating with blind spots when they aren’t fully aware of the capabilities of the organization’s human inventory.

In addition to providing business-critical data, the goal of implementing a skills-first approach has been to strengthen the connection between employee development and the company’s strategic needs – while making it easier for leaders to understand which skills exist and which are needed.

“The building blocks of a company are the skills of the people.”

Rino Skarpnord

Interactive Workshop: Communication, Leadership and Self-awareness

Led by Ingrid Bygland, Business Partner & Certified Trainer, Sebastian Grupe Business Partner & Certified Trainer & Coach, and Netti Fuglesang, Business Partner, participants were thrust into an interactive discussion true to the Dale Carnegie ethos: real results through practical training!

Building on the previous group gathering, the session continued the theme of self-awareness for effective leadership, with mentors and mentees identifying key ambitions and challenges in their professions, before workshopping possible solutions and outcomes.

In concert with participants, Bygland, Grupe and Fuglesang explored traits and characteristics commonly associated with successful leaders, where the ‘triangle of success’ was constituted by skill, attitude and knowledge. Through the exercise, it became apparent that substantial weight can be applied to the first two attributes.

Mentors and mentees gained tools to more effectively drive growth and transformation, where emphasis was placed on actionable plans to reach respective goals. In conclusion, when participants were asked how they felt in response to the workshop, the word cloud spoke volumes – inspired!

Participating companies 2025-26:

About the AmCham Mentorship Program

With its unique cross-industry orientation, AmCham’s Mentorship Program offers a dynamic, internationally minded arena for leadership development.

The program pairs emerging corporate talent with seasoned executives from AmCham Patron-level member companies. The result: a collaborative arena that fosters improvement and reflection, prepares young leaders for the challenges of the international marketplace, and forges bonds between AmCham’s transatlantic member companies.

The Mentorship program is available to Patron-level members of AmCham Norway. For further information and interest in the program, please contact Margrethe Harboe at Margrethe.Harboe@amcham.no.

Past Mentorship Program Events

Norway ruling Labour Party wins reelection while populists score gains

Business News, Government

OSLO, Sept 8 (Reuters) – Norway’s minority Labour Party government won a second term in power on Monday while the populist right achieved its best-ever election result, official results showed, in a ballot dominated by concerns over rising living costs and wars in Ukraine and Gaza.
Incumbent Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere’s Labour and four smaller, left-leaning parties won 87 seats, above the 85 needed for a majority, with 99% of ballots counted.

Stoere, 65, will remain heavily reliant on his smaller allies, however, to pass major legislation such as fiscal budgets. To get their backing, he will likely face tough discussions over issues such as tax hikes for the wealthy, future oil exploration, and divestments by Norway’s $2 trillion sovereign wealth fund from Israeli companies.

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Fortsatt adgang til USA for norsk sjømat

Business News, Food & Beverage

Norsk sjømat kan eksporteres til USA som før når nye amerikanske regler mot bifangst av sjøpattedyr får virkning fra 2026.

– USA er et viktig marked for norsk sjømat. Dette er derfor gode nyheter for sjømatnæringen og for norsk eksport. Selv om vi forventet at søknaden skulle bli godkjent, er det gledelig å få bekreftet at norske produkter kan fortsette å nå amerikanske forbrukere uten denne typen restriksjoner, sier fiskeri- og havminister Marianne Sivertsen Næss.

De nye kravene er en del av den amerikanske Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA). Regelverket setter blant annet grenser for hvor mye bifangst (utilsiktet fangst) av sjøpattedyr – som hval, delfin og sel – som kan aksepteres i kommersielle fiskerier og oppdrett.

Les hele artikkelen.

Equinor backs Orsted share sales despite Trump targeting wind

Business News, Energy

(Bloomberg) – Equinor ASA will spend almost $1 billion backing Orsted A/S’s share sale, in a crucial show of support as the Danish firm seeks to steady its finances following the Trump’s administration’s attacks on offshore wind.

U.S. President Trump has increased efforts in recent weeks to block wind projects from advancing.
The Norwegian energy company plans to maintain its 10% stake in Orsted by subscribing for as much as 6 billion Danish kroner ($940 million) of new shares in the wind developer. Backing from Equinor — Orsted’s second-biggest shareholder — is seen as crucial to getting wider support from investors for the proposed 60 billion-krone ($9.4 billion) capital raise.

Equinor is doubling down on its support for Orsted, even after its original $2.5 billion investment lost about half its value as President Donald Trump triggered an existential crisis for the offshore wind industry. Last month, his administration ordered a stop work order against Orsted’s 80% complete Revolution Wind project off the coast of Rhode Island.

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