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WAITING JOB: Nicolai Tangen was appointed head of the Petroleum Fund in March, but the Norges Bank’s supervisory committee, the Supervisory Board, raised a number of issues. Photo: Nina E. Rangøy
Business economist and professor Kjell Gunnar Salvanes of the Norwegian School of Economics (NHH) in Bergen does not believe that it is possible to be an oil fund manager while the company is retained.
– I consider it unthinkable that Nicolai Tangen has a company in operation, while managing the Petroleum Fund, Salvanes tells VG.
The debate follows after the London-based Norwegian fund manager of AKO Capital, Nicolai Tangen, was appointed as manager of the oil fund in March by the Norges Bank board. The employment agreement was not signed because it needs to be clarified how to manage your separation as an oil fund manager from your operations.
Norges Bank’s supervisory body, the Supervisory Board, has also raised clear objections to the process, including a letter addressed to Norges Bank on Monday.
Espen Henriksen researches and teaches at the Finance Department of the BI Norwegian Business School in Oslo. He has worked particularly with the interaction between economic policy and investment strategies.
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– The question is whether it is possible to achieve this goal for Nicolai Tangen in a way that is acceptable to him. The algae have built AKO from scratch and made it a phenomenal success. So it is far from obvious to me that Tangen should be willing to cut all ties to AKO, it is Henriksen’s assessment.
CRITICAL: Professor Kjell Gunnar Salvanes at the Norwegian School of Business (NHH) Photo: Edamientos Senneset
Salvanes puts words into what he believes to be the great challenge.
– I am afraid that Tangen will have to resign from his own company to become leader of the Petroleum Fund. That assessment has nothing to do with the fact that I think he has bad morale, is not skilled enough, or wants to exploit the situation, says Salvanes:
– It is about ensuring the possibility that you cannot take advantage of the situation. And I don’t see the kind of tight shot that can be built.
– Are you saying, in effect, that you must sell yourself, or put your money in some way, to take over the position of oil fund manager in September?
– Yes, so far I have not seen any construction that is good enough. And I see that the Norges Bank Supervisory Board also questions the same thing.
– Pliers do not break all ties
Among other things, it refers to what the Norges Bank Supervisory Board wrote in its letter to Norges Bank on Monday:
This is what Salvanes refers to
Salvanes says there are several challenges in hiring Tangen.
– The debate about your investments in tax havens is not about having done something illegal. You probably haven’t, I guess Norges Bank has investigated it.
– Rigged so that people do not pay taxes
– But it is that he deliberately used a manipulated system to prevent people from paying taxes. The whole system is based on it and on the lack of transparency. Therefore, it is diametrically opposed to the Norwegian tax system, where transparency is central: what you and I pay in taxes we can all see, Salvanes says.
He says there are challenges associated with it, too, but that it’s part of the Norwegian system:
– If the richest person in the village paid hardly any taxes, then he is discredited. This may be a burden, but there is also something positive about this Norwegian opening.
Salvanes says this Norwegian culture has also shaped the Petroleum Fund.
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– It’s not just about openness, but also about sobriety. What instills confidence.
– Can it sound sad for someone who has been successful in London?
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– I know and I am pretty sure he is well qualified, obviously he is good. The question, however, is whether he is the right man. You have to hold expensive seminars and be who you are. There are those who said yes to him taking the bill, who have been fueled by it, says Salvanes.
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He says it is the backpack that Tang has brought the problem.
– Why isn’t it full of food and sobriety?
– Bring a completely different culture to one of Norway’s top positions, a culture based on closure so you can earn the most money. It has, and of course wants what it has built to continue. So I think it’s okay to say it’s not okay.
– No one should suspect the boss
Espen Henriksen of BI wonders if Norges Bank can strike a deal with Nicolai Tangen that Tangen can accept, while protecting the fund’s high ethical standard:
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– An important part of the success formula of Norges Bank Investment Management, which manages the securities in the Petroleum Fund, has been sober rationality. The potential for conflicts of interest has always been taken with the utmost seriousness. This has been crucial for the effective implementation of the mandate. It is a prerequisite for continuing good business operations that the Petroleum Fund manager maintains standards that minimize the potential for conflicts of interest also in the future, Henriksen tells VG.
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He says there is a lot at stake.
– The management of the Petroleum Fund is carried out in an environment with a very high ethical conscience. It is a very good project on behalf of the Norwegian community. But it is also vulnerable. The new boss must, of course, meet the same standards as other employees. Conflicts of interest must be avoided and there must be full transparency. It is crucial that no one can suspect that the boss has other interests than the best for Norway, says Espen Henriksen.
Here you can read what Professor Hans Petter Graver thinks about the matter:
– Not supported
– Important for me to be open about taxes
Pliers respond via email from Norges Bank.
“It is important to me to be open about taxes. Everything is reported to the UK authorities and I have paid a total of NOK 3.6 billion in taxes in England. When I move home to Norway, I will pay Norwegian taxes and I will also pay Norwegian wealth tax with pleasure. ”
Norges Bank’s information department writes this response on behalf of the bank:
“The work to ensure the necessary distance is established between the Global Government Pension Fund, the AKO system and Nicolai Tangen’s personal wealth is already underway. This work will be reflected in the employment agreement for Nicolai Tangen, which the Executive Council will debate on May 27. The employment contract will be made public ».
