Editorial: What next?
Central Bank Governor Kjell Storvik, who is in charge of the Government Petroleum Fund investments, is a worried man. In an interview he says that if the government is to impose conditions regarding investment vehicles in terms of human rights and the environment, it will be difficult to measure the rate of return of the fund. This way the general public won't be able to see whether the Bank of Norway is doing a good job or not.
Artikkelen er mer enn to år gammel. Ting kan ha endret seg.
Central Bank Governor Kjell Storvik, who is in charge of the Government Petroleum Fund investments, is a worried man. In an interview he says that if the government is to impose conditions regarding investment vehicles in terms of human rights and the environment, it will be difficult to measure the rate of return of the fund. This way the general public won't be able to see whether the Bank of Norway is doing a good job or not.
In other words: if we are to be able to compare the rate of return of the petroleum fund with other investors' results, we have to play by the same rules. And these rules are no rules! In so far as we consider ourselves a part of "the general public", we would want Storvik not to push us in front of him in his attempt to weaken government policy. We are considerably more interested in the ethical aspect of the investments than the financial aspect. If Storvik is not, he might still have to realize that money isn't everything. Is that asking too much of a central bank governor?
Norwatch Newsletter 4/98