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USD 1 = NOK 7.0 No. 34 - 26 October 1993
CONTENTS:
Industrial giants double profits (1)
Sleipner contracts to Kvaerner and Aker (2)
Favourable report card for whalers (3)
Part-time for a quarter of the work force (4)
Kvaerner continues to sweep in contracts (5)
Will mice provide AIDS breakthrough? (6)
Diamonds in the north? (7)
Businessmen's Olympics (8)
Record participation at Lillehammer Olympics (9)
"Breathing" window will cut heating costs (10)
norinform/1 26 October 1993
INDUSTRIAL GIANTS DOUBLE PROFITS
Norway's industrial heavies are turning profits like never before. So
far this year, the 11 biggest industrial concerns on the Oslo Bourse
have run a total profit of more than USD 1 billion before tax. This is
USD 590 million more than at the same time last year, constituting an
increase of a good 125 per cent.
And not all of the increase can be attributed to lower interest rates
and capital gains on stocks and bonds. The operating profits, which are
not influenced by these two factors, are also swelling. The combined
operating profits for the 11 companies this year total almost USD 870
million, as against USD 640 million last year - an improvement of 34 per
cent.
The biggest of the 11 concerns, Norsk Hydro, has chalked up capital
gains of USD 140 million this year on its sale of shares in the Freia
Marabou confectionery company. Although Hydro is excluded from the
overall figures on this account, the 10 remaining concerns have
increased their profits by 120 per cent on average. Only 2 of the 11
have recorded a poorer pre-tax result than last year; these are Dyno and
Veidekke.
Chief economist Tor Steig at the Confederation of Norwegian Business and
Industry, says the encouraging figures demonstrate that the framework
conditions for Norwegian industry are looking up, but also points out
that this year's figures look particularly good because last year's were
particularly bad!
norinform/2 26 October 1993
SLEIPNER CONTRACTS TO KVAERNER AND AKER
On the southwest coast, champagne corks popped when Statoil recently
announced that it would award contracts for the Sleipner West field,
worth a combined USD 180 million, to Aker and Kvaerner subsidiaries. The
deal will ensure about 1,000 jobs in the engineering companies until
spring 1996.
Aker Stord is to build a gas process module costing USD 113 million.
Kvaerner Egersund will construct a 100 million dollar module for the
removal of CO2 gas. Kvaerner Installation, in Stavanger, will modify the
Sleipner A platform for another USD 50 million. The deal was especially
welcome because many of the workers at the Stavanger yard have been laid
off.
The Sleipner West field, where the heavy hardware will be put to use, is
scheduled to start production on 1 October 1996. In the first phase, the
field will be developed with two platforms - a simple well head platform
and a larger gas treatment platform which will be linked by bridge to
Sleipner A. Statoil shares its rights to Sleipner West with Esso, Norsk
Hydro, Elf and Total. The field will provide some of the enormous
quantities of gas to be sold in connection with the 1991 Troll
agreemeent.
norinform/3 26 October 1993
FAVOURABLE REPORT CARD FOR WHALERS
Whalers have received acclaim from the veterinarians who inspected the
Norwegian minke whale hunt. The whales were killed more humanely than
earlier and no whalers broke the rules.
Fifty per cent of the minke whales died instantaneously during this
year's hunt. On the average it took the whales 3 minutes and 33 seconds
to die. This was a three minute improvement from the averages during the
commercial minke whaling in 1984-86. A few accidents and cases of slow
deaths were also registered, but the veterinarians conclude that
Norwegian whalers are serious professionals who are positive to the
authorities' efforts to improve hunting methods.
Faced with international opposition to whaling, the Norwegian
authorities ensured that the hunt was well supervised. There were 32
veterinarians who sailed aboard the 27 boats in the commercial hunt, and
the four vessels that conducted whaling for research purposes. A total
of 226 animals were harpooned, 167 of them for their commercial value.
Researcher Egil Ole OEen says that reports were written on all the
individual catches, resulting in the best documentation of a hunt on
wild animals in the world.
Only one of the 300 harpoon grenades fired failed to explode, for
reasons unknown, but one 'dud' among som many grenades is not considered
abnormal. Thus it appears that the technical mishaps that afflicted the
1992 hunt are a thing of the past.
norinform/4 26 October 1993
PART-TIME FOR A QUARTER OF THE WORK FORCE
In the industrialized world, Norway is second only to the Netherlands in
the utilization of part-time work. Among the 2,004,000 who held jobs in
Norway last year, 534,000 - or 27 per cent - worked part-time. For many,
reduced hours are a chosen privilege, but others would prefer to have
full- time jobs. The Central Bureau of Statistics registered 88,000
underemployed in the first quarter this year, and the ranks of the
underemployed are rising.
Most part-time workers are women. The use of part-time labour is most
common in the healthcare sector, but it also pervades in retail sales
and restaurants. The lower average hourly wages for part-timers ties in
with its prevalence in lower-paid fields of work, but another factor is
that such employees are often excluded from overtime pay, extra pay for
weekend duty, and paid on-the-job training.
The Confederation of Vocational Unions (YS) thinks that employers'
demands for more flexibility and lower costs are the chief cause of the
rise in part-time work. Employers' needs have also promoted other form
of work that is often non-union, such as temporary contracts, and leased
labour from employment agencies and other job contractors.
"The figures are startling. Because of the high unemployment rate people
are willing to accept anything just to get a foot in the door, or to
keep their jobs when payrolls are being cut," says YS leader Eva
Bjoereng.
norinform/5 26 October 1993
KVAERNER CONTINUES TO SWEEP IN CONTRACTS
Kvaerner Energy can add another USD 30 million in projects to its order
book. The latest entries are for deliveries to Uganda and Indonesia. To
date this year, Kvaerner's hydroelectric engineering division has signed
agreements worth a combined USD 210 million, but the sum could soar to
555 million by year's end, according to the concern's director, Atle
Kigen. Several of the orders on book, or nearly negotiated, will
provide work well into the next century. As a result, Kvaerner Energy
will have an opportunity to expand its payroll.
The delivery to Uganda is worth USD 15 million, and the provisional deal
is expected to be made final in November. The delivery is part of a
project entailing considerable Norwegian participation. The Directorate
for Development Cooperation (NORAD) will take care of finances with
conributions from the Norwegian Trade Council. The Indonesian order,
also valued at USD 15 million, has been awarded to the concern's British
subsidiary, Kvaerner Boving.
Kvaerner Energy's biggest single contract this year is with the Chinese
Tianhuanping hydroelectric project. Its value is about USD 150 million.
A comparable agreement in Venezuela is also being negotiated (re:
Norinform, nr. 29 - 21 September 1993).
norinform/6 26 October 1993
WILL MICE PROVIDE AIDS BREAKTHROUGH?
Scientists in Norway have succeeded in isolating a virus in mice which
resembles the HIV virus. This means that experiments on apes will no
longer be necessary.
More than 1,000 mice were used during the five year experimental project
in Trondheim, central Norway, before scientists at the microbiology
department of the Trondheim Regional Hospital were able to isolate a
virus which behaved almost identically to the HIV virus. The
breakthrough in Trondheim could enable researchers to find a possible
vaccine against AIDS much sooner than previously believed. Scientists in
the USA have alredy signalled their interest in the "Norwegian" virus.
It is impossible to infect mice with the human AIDS virus and for this
reason scientists have long been searching for a virus which would have
a similar effect on mice. The new form of rodent AIDS cannot infect
humans. The mice are first given a virus-infected injection. After
only two weeks they display symptoms of an illness very similar to human
AIDS. Four months after the injection, they develop a condition which
closely resembles AIDS; by way of comparison, it can take several years
before cats or apes develop a similar condition.
One of the reasons why AIDS research has progressed so slowly is the
limited availability of research animals. Now that this problem has
been solved, the hunt for a suitable vaccine could be considerably
accelerated.
norinform/7 26 October 1993
DIAMONDS IN THE NORTH?
The British Rio Tinto, the world's biggest mining and prospecting
company, plans to spend USD 14 million on a quest for diamonds in North
Norway.
Ten municipalities in Finnmark county have received prospecting
applications from Rio Tinto Zink Mining and Exploration Ltd - which has
its headquarters in London - through the Norwegian subsidiary Rio
Holdings Norway. The company demands exclusive prospecting rights for
three years in ten municipalities.
Nils-Petter Argel, board chairman in Rio Holdings Norway says that the
geological conditions in Finnmark, and in a belt which stretches through
Sweden Finland and into Russia, closely resemble those existing at other
locations in the world where diamonds have been found. Rio Holdings
bases its assumptions on charts purchased form the Geological Survey of
Norway but it has also conducted its own investigations in Finnmark
where earlier studies have revealed the presence of numerous valuable
minerals, including uranium and gold.
There is no certainty that Rio Tinto will strike diamonds in Norway,but
it is willing to risk 14 million on the search. Apart from demanding
exclusive prospecting rights, the company also says that the chemical
tests of samples from Finnmark must be positive if they are to continue
exploration. Tests will be conducted in London. Rio Tinto and Rio
Holdings wish to cooperate openly with the Norwegian state which will at
all times have full access to the current results.
norinform/8 26 October 1993
BUSINESSMEN'S OLYMPICS
When the XVII Winter Olympics start in Lillehammer in February of next
year, 20,000 prominent businessmen from all over the world will be
coming to Norway to attend them. For most of them the gateway to Norway
and the Games will be Oslo. The municipality of Oslo has therefore
seized this rare opportunity to organize one of the biggest seminars for
business and industry that has ever been staged in Norway.
The heads of a number of major multinationals have already signalled
that they will be attending "Oslo Business Programme" as it has been
named. The organizers will draw on the gathered expertise to procure
speakers for the seminar. In this they have been assisted by Gerhard
Heiberg, president of the Lillehammer Olympic Organizing Committee, who
has put them in touch with speakers of international calibre. Though no
names have been stated, there is reason to believe that the heads of
most of the firms which will sponsor the Olympics will be addressing the
seminars.
The programme will start on 14 February with a session on Japanese-
Norwegian affairs, the first of a wide range of seminars and hearings
that will take place during the Games.
norinform/9 26 October 1993
RECORD PARTICIPATION AT LILLEHAMMER OLYMPICS
A total of 80 nations have registered as participants at the Lillehammer
Winter Olympics in February, and the Lillehammer Olympic Organizing
Committee (LOOC), has closed the door on further entries.
The original plans for the Games were based on participation from about
60 nations. This figure was subsequently upgraded to between 65 and 70,
and later to 80. Never before have so many countries applied to take
part in the winter Olympics; 68 countries took part in the 1992 Games in
Albertville, France.
"The increase doesn't mean that there will be a lot more participants
than we originally reckoned on," says Martin Burkhalter at LOOC. "The
final figure will probably be around 2,000," he expects, adding that
participating nations have until 1 December to report on the exact size
of their contingent to each Olympic discipline.
"New" nations at the Norwegian Games, i.e. those who did not take part
in Albertville, are the Fiji Islands, Israel, Bosnia Herzegovina,
Thailand, Georgia, Moldova, Peru, Macedonia, Central Africa and South
Africa. There are a number of exotic participants from states not
particularly renowned for their prowess in winter sports, such as The
Netherlands Antilles, the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Bermuda and
Jamaica. Media representatives will be coming from most of the
participating countries; hot and sunny Senegal will be sending no less
than six!
norinform/10 26 October 1993
"BREATHING" WINDOW WILL CUT HEATING COSTS
Norwegian scientists have developed a window which reduces heat loss by
90 per cent and that even "breathes in" cleansed air.
Even the most modern three-pane windows let out 10-20 times as much
heat as a wall of a corresponding size. In a normal home, heat loss
through windows accounts for about a fifth of its total loss.
Therefore, the Foundation for Scientific and Industrial Research
(SINTEF), in Trondheim, has designed a window which insulates just as
well as a properly insulated wall. If it functions as planned, the new
window will reduce heat costs in a home by 10 - 15 per cent.
But it will do more than just insulate. It will also serve as a type of
thermal valve. Cold air will be sucked in at the top and be led down
between the panes. As this air sinks lower it will be warmed up by the
inside air on the other side of the pane before being led into the room.
Efficient prototypes of the window have been made, but it will still be
a year or two before production can come under way.
Although the new "breathing" window will be a relatively expensive
investment, it will pay off on the long run by reducing power bills.
.