Øystein Olsen: Does Norway save too much? Speech by Mr Øystein Olsen, Governor of Norges Bank (Central Bank of Norway), at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, Washington DC, 22 March 2018. * * * Accompanying slides of the speech. INTRODUCTION First, let me thank you for the opportunity to speak to you today. I am very happy to visit the Peterson Institute. Norway is a small, open economy which was transformed by the discovery of oil on our continental shelf almost 50 years ago. Back in 1970, the year after the first discovery, income levels were relatively low compared with other western countries. That picture has changed completely. Lower oil prices in recent years have reduced the relative income level somewhat, but measured by GDP per capita, Norway still ranks among the richest countries in the world. Graph: GDP per capita Natural resource discoveries have been identified as a curse for some countries. For Norway, it has been a blessing. We have managed to transform oil and gas resources into real and financial assets. Luck has been supplemented with what I dare claim is a sensible handling of the resources. At an early stage, it was concluded that the resources belong to the Norwegian people. Large savings in recent years means that also future generations will benefit from the revenues. Graph: The petroleum fund mechanism Direct government participation in the industry and an extraordinary tax rate for oil companies, currently at 78 percent, ensure that most of the resource rents flow into government coffers.
I trust that our product innovation will also promote the development of the bond market in Hong Kong. This creates a win-win situation for the investors, the placing banks and the Corporation. I like to thank the banking community for supporting our bond issuance. In particular, HSBC and Bank of China (Hong Kong) are underwriting a portion of the bond issue as well as placing the notes. My appreciation also goes to the other placing banks, namely, Bank of America (Asia), Bank of Communications, Bank of East Asia, Chiyu Bank, CITIC Ka Wah Bank, Dah Sing Bank, DBS Bank (Hong Kong), Hang Seng Bank, ICBC (Asia), Liu Chong Hing Bank, Nanyang Commercial Bank, Shanghai Commercial Bank, Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong), Wing Hang Bank and Wing Lung Bank. With your support, I am sure we will have another successful retail bond issue that is welcome by the investors. Thank you. BIS Review 81/2006  1