The Minister of Trade and Industry throws away almost the entire Argentum board – news Vestland

In recent weeks, Bergens Tidende has documented that CEO Joachim Høegh-Krohn has been paid more than NOK 135 million as head of the state-owned investment company he started in the position in 2006. Last year alone, Høegh-Krohn was paid NOK 24.5 million in salary, bonus and dividend. He has been among the highest paid top managers in the country, and according to BT the clearly highest paid state doctor leader. Argentum Fondsinvesteringer is a Norwegian asset management company. The state owns the company through the Ministry of Trade and Industry. The company was established in 2001 with the aim of creating a competitive return and a more well-functioning capital market for unlisted companies. In a letter sent to the Storting on Tuesday, Minister of Trade and Industry Jan Christian Vestre (Labor Party) states that he will make a “major change in the composition of the board and bring in new forces.” This indicates that he will replace the entire board, except for one member, who joined the board in 2021. Dissatisfaction with the Bradbenken scheme A special incentive scheme for the lease, called the Bradbenken scheme, has made the high payments for the lease of the company possible. – I believe that the overall scheme is neither reasonable nor in line with the line of moderation this government stands for. I am also not satisfied with the degree of openness that has been shown, says Vestre to news. The ministry has several times urged the board to look at how the scheme could be renegotiated to be phased out or changed, Vestre states. – In a meeting with the chairman of the board and CEO in February 2022, I was clear about the state’s expectations for moderation. After this, I have been clear that I assess the board based on, among other things, how it handles the Bradbenken scheme. Argentum’s board tells BT that they will not comment on the decision to the Minister of Trade and Industry. – We do not have any comments on this setting. The ministry owns Argentum, and the dialogue we have with our owners is internal, says acting communications manager Marius Parmann to the newspaper.



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