EMERGENCY MEETING: On Monday, the Executive Board of Norges Bank will meet for an emergency meeting on a new oil fund manager Photo: Krister Sørbø
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The experts agree: Nicolai Tangen must sell himself completely out of his life’s work if he is to take up the job as oil fund manager, they believe.
– Sales are the only thing that can be acceptable to meet the requirements of the Storting’s finance committee, says Morten Kinander, professor at BI to VG.
– Slightly ragged, this can quickly become the acid test of how strongly Tangen wants the leadership job in the Petroleum Fund, says economist and lawyer Gøril Bjerkan.
He can either sell out completely, or not take up the position, is the experts’ verdict.
New requirements
On Friday afternoon, Governor Øystein Olsen announced that Norges Bank’s Executive Board will hold an emergency meeting on Monday to discuss the Tangen case.
It happened just after the Storting’s finance committee presented its demands for a new head of the Petroleum Fund:
- The new head of the Petroleum Fund may not have any ownership or interests that create or may appear to create conflicts of interest that are suitable for weakening the confidence and reputation of Norges Bank.
- A new manager may not have ownership or interests that weaken or may weaken the Petroleum Fund’s work with taxes and transparency.
—ACID TEST: Lawyer and economist Gøril Bjerkan believes Tangen is facing a decisive test when he probably has to sell his life’s work to get the job. Photo: Private
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– This can quickly become the acid test
– Is it possible to find a solution within the Storting’s requirements without Tangen selling out?
– No, I have a hard time seeing other solutions than sales, says economist and lawyer Gøril Bjerkan to VG.
– If the Executive Board interprets the Finance Committee’s recommendation so that they must make it a condition that Nicolai Tangen sells out of AKO Capital and the AKO funds, then he will be faced with a very difficult choice.
– When do you think we will get an answer to the acid test?
– Now the main board should not have a meeting before Monday afternoon, and they stated that Tangen will join that meeting, so we will at least not get that answer until Monday afternoon.
And it is urgent, says Bjerkan.
– Since it is a short time until Tangen is scheduled to join on September 1, it would not have been unnatural to have this meeting earlier.
– Do you think that Tangen, after this whole process, should take over as the new oil fund manager?
– If he meets the requirements set by the finance committee, then I absolutely believe he will be a good leader for the Petroleum Fund, says Bjerkan.
—MUST SELL: BI professor Kinander sees no other solution than that Tangen must sell out completely. Photo: Tore Kristiansen
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– The problem is that it is Tangen that has built up AKO Capital
BI professor Kinander says he will be surprised if there are other possibilities than that Tangen sells out completely, if he is to have the job as oil fund manager.
– Sale is the only thing that can be acceptable to meet the requirements of the Storting’s finance committee.
He has no belief that new fund structures or the establishment of new companies to try once again to create distance from Tangen to AKO Capital will be sufficient to eliminate the risk that he may be suspected of having conflicts of interest.
– Neither the Storting, the Finance Committee nor the outside world in general will accept such a thing, he says.
– The problem is that it is Tangen that has built up AKO Capital. He has developed the company strategy, he knows those who work there well, and he may return to AKO Capital later. Therefore, it is difficult to see any other solution than a final sale, if he still wants the job in the oil fund.
– Can Norges Bank and the Petroleum Fund withstand this crisis? And what if everyone has to go?
– These are institutions that are stronger than the people who run them. The most important thing is to find a solution quickly, so that the institutions can resume their normal functions, says Kinander.
—EITHER OR: Law professor Marthinussen is among the experts who believe Tangen must either sell or refrain from joining. Photo: University of Bergen
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– This now depends on the Minister of Finance
Hans Fredrik Marthinussen, professor at the Faculty of Law in Bergen, believes that the options are few according to today’s list of demands from the Storting.
– It is really just a matter of demanding that Tangen sell out if he wants to take over as boss, and that is a common requirement to make, Marthinussen believes.
– The pliers can either sell or not join. There will hardly be room for anything else. This now depends on the Minister of Finance, and he undoubtedly has the opportunity to put his foot down himself.
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