Company investment at rock bottom

Øystein Dørum, Chief economist at NHO.Photo: Vidar Ruud / NTB scanpix

The investment sector has fallen drastically in recent years. Today, the share of investments in companies is at its lowest level in 25 years. Housing and government take the money.

Dagens Næringsliv newspaper reported that, ‘The national accounts show that economic initiatives in Norway happen in the public sector, the oil industry, and, not least, the housing market’.

It worries chief economist, Øystein Dørum, of the Norwegian Business Organization (NHO).

‘What will ensure welfare in the long run is that more jobs are created in the private sector,’ Dørum told Dagens Næringsliv .

He believes it’s crucial that both the government, and parliament, accept that it may become a major problem for the Norwegian economy if the level of investment in ordinary businesses doesn’t rise.

Finance Minister, Siv Jensen, nevertheless believes that the arrow is pointing in the right direction, and investment in business is a challenge the whole of Europe is struggling with, not only Norway.

‘Growth has risen, employment has risen, and investment has risen. I sleep well at night, but a finance minister can’t sleep for an hour; the restructuring isn’t over.

We must choose wise priorities for the future,’ said Jensen enigmatically.

 

Source: NTB scanpix / Norway Today