All posts by Margrethe Harboe

House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee Chairman: Deny Norse Atlantic

Airline / Travel, Business News

The chairman of the U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee on Wednesday urged the Biden administration to deny a permit for a new low-cost Norwegian carrier to enter the domestic market.

Representative Peter DeFazio, in a statement released ahead of a hearing Thursday, urged Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg to deny Norse Atlantic permission to enter the U.S. market.

Last week, Reuters reported the budget airline planned to fly from U.S. destinations such as New York, Los Angeles and Miami to European cities including London, Paris and Oslo, with a goal of launching its first flight in December this year.

Read full article.

Konsernsjef i Yara Svein Tore Holsether er innstilt som ny president i NHO

Business News, Trade

NHOs valgkomite har innstilt Svein Tore Holsether (48) som norsk næringslivs hovedtillitsvalgt. Holsether er konsernsjef i Yara. Han er innstilt til å overta etter Arvid Moss, som har hatt presidentvervet siden 2017. Det formelle valget blir gjort av NHOs generalforsamling 8. juni 2021.

Holsether har lang erfaring fra norsk næringsliv. Han har vært konsernsjef i Yara siden 2015.

– Valgkomiteen har lagt vekt på Holsethers brede industrierfaring, ikke minst internasjonalt med styrkingen av Yaras globale markedsposisjon de senere årene. Han har engasjert seg i internasjonale fora for å bidra til bærekraftig utvikling og er sterkt engasjert i å oppnå lavere klimautslipp og grønn omstilling, sier valgkomiteens leder Tor Arnesen.

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Norway’s Kahoot to Explore Secondary U.S. Listing: CEO

Business News, Education / Research, Technology

Softbank-backed Kahoot is to explore a secondary listing in New York or another major European exchange as it looks to take advantage of soaring investor demand for growth and tech stocks, its chief executive told Reuters.

The Norwegian e-learning company, which made a switch from Oslo’s junior bourse to its main stock exchange on Thursday, will use the coming months to explore alternative listing options, chief executive Eilert Hanoa told Reuters.

Read full article.

Katherine Tai Confirmed as U.S. Trade Rep in 98-0 Senate Vote

Business News, Government, Trade

Katherine Tai easily won Senate confirmation as U.S. Trade Representative, putting the former congressional staffer at the center of thorny decisions on enforcement and tariffs that President Joe Biden inherited from Donald Trump.

The Senate approved Tai, the first woman of color to serve in the job, in a 98-0 vote on Wednesday. She joins a team expected to build support with allies to confront China on issues from persecution of its Uighur minority in the western region of Xinjiang to trade practices that violate international commitments.

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Regjeringen oppretter ny eksportaktør

Business News, Government

Regjeringen vil opprette en ny eksportenhet, som skal forvalte 75 millioner kroner og sikre medvirkning og medfinansiering fra næringslivet. 

– Eksport og handel på tvers av landegrenser er helt avgjørende for verdiskapingen i Norge. Derfor oppretter vi nå en ny eksportaktør som skal koble bedriftene og virkemiddelapparatet sammen med markedsmulighetene i verden, sier næringsminister Iselin Nybø (V).

Høsten 2020 lanserte regjeringen eksporthandlingsplanen “For og med norsk næringsliv”. Som en del av oppfølgingen av planen satte næringsministeren ned et eksportpanel bestående av representanter fra næringslivet.

Les hele artikkelen.

Norges Bank Proves Its Hawk Status as Rate Hike Moves Closer

Accounting / Financial, Business News

Norway’s central bank brought forward the timing of what will probably be the rich world’s first cycle of interest rate hikes since the pandemic broke out. The Oslo-based bank, which kept its main rate unchanged at zero on Thursday, as predicted, said it now expects to start raising its benchmark deposit rate in the “latter half” of this year.

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Norway Consumer Group Calls for Grindr to be Made to Delete Any Illegal Data

Business News, Entertainment & Lifestyle, Technology

Norway’s influential Consumer Council called on Wednesday for the country’s data protection watchdog to order Grindr to identify and erase any personal data gathered illegally.

Datatilsynet, Norway’s Data Protection Authority, said in January it planned to fine the LGBTQ+ dating app 100 million Norwegian crowns ($11.8 million) for allegedly illegally disclosing user data to advertising firms.

“The Consumer Council is now asking the Data Protection Authority to impose measures to ensure that the company also must identify and delete illegally collected personal data,” the council said.

Read full article.

AmCham Financial Forum: Operationalizing Analytics & Effective Compliance Programs

Accounting / Financial, AmCham News, ,

AmCham Financial Forum: Operationalizing Analytics & Effective Compliance Programs

On the one-year anniversary of the lockdown in Norway, financial leads from Schjødt, BAT, Citi, Connectum Capital Management, Crawford & Company, Escalon Services, IBM, KPMG, Microsoft, OSM Aviation Management, Raise Gruppen, Roche, SAS Institute, Sonitor, and Wavetrain Systems gathered virtually for the first Financial Forum of 2021.

Operationalizing Analytics: Reacting Faster

The past year’s unforeseen events left many financial leaders with data and models that were no longer relevant. The ability to pivot existing processes proved vital to staying ahead. SAS Institute’s Ina Conrado shed light on the importance of operational analytics and how companies can use data to react quickly and confidently in response to changing data.

Source: Ina Conrado, SAS Institute

Presenters

Ina Conrado – Advanced Analytics & AI Advisor

SAS FINAL

Helge Kvamme – Senior Strategic Partnership Manager

As an Advanced Analytics and AI Advisor, Conrado has had the opportunity to work with a variety of industry supply chains, amongst them healthcare, retail, financial, and the food and beverage sectors. When the country shut down a year ago – leading to major changes in consumer behavior and the economy – the models that were relied upon to make decisions became obsolete. In the case of credit scoring models, a reevaluation of risk assignment and approval of loans was needed. By having an analytical framework, it becomes easier to adapt and at times predict change.

Data is the new gold, but not before its extracted and refined. The value comes from the decisions we make based on the data.

Ina Conrado, SAS Institute

Conrado also touched on the different roadblocks to efficient dataflow, with major challenges being communication, collaboration, inability to scale and a lack of governance of analytic assets.

Integrity Breaches & Effective Compliance Programs

Helge Kvamme of Kvamme Associates shared his experience in international investigations, covering integrity breaches through his various leadership roles within law enforcement (including Kripos and Økokrim) as well as at PwC and law firm Selmer. He is also the co-founder of the Oslo Anti-Corruption Conference.

Kvamme detailed the hallmarks of an effective compliance program as well as Kvamme Associates’ unique corporate investigations model. The six-step process is designed to fully diagnose underlying issue(s) and to prevent future compliance breeches. Investigation results are used to building a stronger culture of trust and increased transparency. Kvamme also endorsed the US Department of Justice’s 2020 Evaluation of Corporate Compliance Programs and the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act’s 2020 resource guide.

Source: Helge Kvamme, Kvamme Associates

Over the past year, Kvamme has witnessed an increase in misconduct investigations and a positive focus on financial integrity of sustainability projects. He highlighted the lack of focus on the supply side of corruption, bribes often being paid by non-corrupt countries and well-known companies.

About the Finacial Forum

AmCham’s Financial Forum is a platform that gives financial leaders the opportunity to interact, share best practices, and learn from each other – building a better understanding of what it takes to run a successful international finance department in Norway. 

Our Q2 Financial Forum is in the works – for interest in participating, please contact Madeleine.Brekke@amcham.no!

Previous Finacial Forums

POLL-Norway central bank rates seen on hold next week, hike draws nearer

Business News, Financial / Investment

Norway’s central bank is expected to leave its key interest rate unchanged next week at a record low 0.0%, but it may warn of a steeper rise ahead than previously forecast, amid signs of economic recovery, a Reuters poll of economists showed on Thursday.

The 24 participants in the poll were unanimous in predicting no change in the policy rate when the outcome is announced on March 18, in line with the central bank’s own view.

Having cut rates three times in 2020 to combat the economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic, Norges Bank late last year said an increase would probably take place in early 2022.

Read full article.

March 2021 AmCham Digitalization Forum: Pragmatism Prevails

AmCham News

March 2021 AmCham Digitalization Forum: Pragmatism Prevails

AmCham member representatives warmly welcomed Datatilsynet Director Bjørn Erik Thon to the first 2021 meeting of the Digitalization Forum. Given ongoing US-Europe Privacy Shield negotiations, the virtual roundtable dialogue – which ranged from COVID-19 era concerns to the digital platform economy, GDPR, and Grindr – was particularly timely.

Speaking both to the breadth of participants and the reach of Datatilsynet, Thon commented how the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the role of data protection in nearly every sector, ranging from health to education, financial technology to infection control, and how the landscape of today’s data protection looks much different than at his start.

When taking the helm at Datatilsynet in 2010, Thon noted that much of the data we see in “an internet minute” was not put to use. In the time since, he and his team have had to readjust and reassess how they work, seeing an exponential jump in users, data collection, and data utilization fuelled by a continuously expanding offering of services.

The sheer volume of information available, the importance of transparency, and the ever-changing requirements for accountability make the jobs of both technology companies and Data Protection Agencies ever-more challenging.
March 2021 AmCham Digitalization Forum

After the digital shift of 2020, and regardless of GDPR efforts, Thon asserts that it is not possible for consumers to know exactly what is happening to their data. The sheer volume of information available, the importance of transparency, and the ever-changing requirements for accountability make the jobs of both technology companies and Data Protection Agencies ever-more challenging.

This pragmatism, and accompanying understanding of the role of data in everyday interactions, was an assuring takeaway from the discussion. Thon signalled a desire to encourage communication between businesses and government in order to strengthen consumer rights and enact actionable regulations. 

A Refreshing New Approach

Briefly discussed was the European Data Protection Board and its role as an arbiter between governments and industry as they strive to be compliant and protect users, a diverse arena requiring a creative and holistic approach, AmCham argued in its letter to the EDPB. Thon commented that Norway is a strong and active member of the EDPB, noting the complexity of issues addressed and the room for improvement.

A refreshing new approach to regulation that Datatilsynet is taking is its Regulatory Sand Box program. The program brings industry together with regulators to creatively address new questions within the ethical application of AI and use of personal data. It indicates an interest in thinking creatively and cooperatively in meeting the challenges ahead, and we look forward to both following the current cohorts’ progress and seeing who applies for future iterations.

In answering both the questions already posed, and those yet to come, we look forward to building upon this dialogue, and encouraging a strong working environment for our members through solid, predictable data protection regulations, and open discussion.

AmCham Digitalization Forum

AmCham’s long running Digitalization Forum was initiated to foster leaders’ digital transformation confidence and inspire cross-industry collaboration. If you are interested in attending a future Digitalization Forum, please email amcham@amcham.no.