Headline October 04, 2017/ ''' NORWAY'S -UNRIVALED- NEURON'S '''

 ''' NORWAY'S -

UNRIVALED- NEURON'S '''

NORWAY!   =   YES,  NORWAY?  Right at the bottom of the 2nd row of readers on Sam Daily Times : The Voice of the Voiceless.

How come? Never expected them to be this laggard?......... For the World Students Society belongs to every single student of Norway, just as it belongs to every single student in the world

JUST CAN'T BELIEVE THAT -just can't believe my ears : Rabo, Dee and Zilli, 're-check for me girls, will Yee? Now who is looking after Norway, Student Lakshmi/India?

For a hopelessly Crude World in turbulent waters, waffling fore and aft, stem to stern, Norway is just so a beacon of high class planning and honest and professional execution.

Norway, a country of merely 5.3 million people, began depositing oil and gas earnings into the fund way back in 1995. The objective behind setting up the fund was clear-

To secure the economic prosperity of its future generations.

      

NORWAY'S MASSIVE sovereign fund, financed mainly by its oil income, hit the $1 trillion mark last month, making screeching headlines around the world.

The number is 2.5 times Norway's annual GDP and serves as the largest sovereign wealth fund in the entire, entire world.

Today, the Norwegian has sovereign wealth fund has few rivals in terms of size. Japan's Government  Pension Investment Fund was valued at 144.9 trillion Yen/ $1.3 trillion at the end of March.

China, of course, has about  $3 trillion in currency reserves. There are also big cash-piles at money management firms such as BlackRock Inc's $5.7 trillion and Vanguard Group's $4.4 trillion.

But the Norwegian model is starkly and brilliantly, illuminatingly very, very different:

Norway, a country of merely 5.3 million people, began depositing oil and gas earnings, into the fund back in 1996.

The objective behind setting up the fund was clear   -to secure the economic prosperity of its future generations.

Despite being a major oil and gas producer, Norway continues to be a country with high taxes on the  energy sector. The rate of taxation in the country could be gauged from the fact that despite being-

A Leading oil producer, the price of petrol at the gas stations in Norway is among the highest in Europe.

This has contributed to the distribution of the oil and gas income to all the strata of the society. 

Unlike many other rich countries, using their income to meet their current needs, this small country  has been using its energy riches towards a truly egalitarian society and keeping its income from oil and gas for posterity.

In order to achieve the objectives, the country has put into practice a very interesting mix of rules and regulations.

Almost a decade ago, at the residence of a senior Norwegian diplomat in Riyadh-

Olay Akselsen, the then head of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs in Storinget, the  Norwegian Parliament told this author:

''as per the rules of governance, the government in Oslo is not allowed to touch the income from this  precious natural asset-OIL.''

All the income  from oi that goes into what is known as  as the ''Special Fund.''

The government is allowed to use only returns on these investments -and that too only up to four per cent in a given year, Mr. Akeselsen clarified.........................

''The Rest Meant For Prosperity!''

Mr. Akselsen kept hinting, rather subtly though, that Norway was using this  ''finite'' asset prudently, and instead of opting for a ''lifestyle'' as many other energy-rich nations have done.

Oslo has opted to invest the income for future generations.   .

For someone involved in the energy world, and its geopolitics, for decades, Norway presents a  wonderful and exciting case study.

Despite having immense energy resources , the country is not dependent on oil revenues  for meeting  its day to day needs. It has avoided the pitfalls of a ''rentier'' economy.

It is a developed, mixed economy, It can boast of an interesting and strong industrial base too, with big names such as Stateoil and Norsk Hydro operating at the global industrial horizon.

This makes Norway a developed country.

While most other energy producers are using their energy riches to sustain a ''lifestyle'' and ''glitter'', Oslo has been keeping its economy far too independent of oil income. 

And that remains the key difference between Norway and other major oil producers.

The stark reality is that Economies need to be diversified on solid footings to survive : 

Merium? Rabo? Haleema? Seher? Saima? Eman? Armeen?  Zainab? Sanyia? Shahbano? Juniper/Japan? Dantini/Malaysia?   Nina?   Tooba?

Paras? Sorat? Aqsa? 

Hussain? Shahzaib? Ali? Salar? Haider?  Shahrayar? Ahsen? Faraz? Ali Hassan? Umer? Awais? Wajahat? Mustafa/LUMS?  Danyial/UK? Zaeem?  Furqan? Gerrard/Australia?  Vishnu/India? Toby/China? Bilal/US? Jordan/US?  Arthur/NZ?

Marwin/Germany? [Now visiting Pakistan and staying with Hussain]?  Qazi Ayaan Ahmed Khan/Head Start? and little Angels : Maynah, Maria, Ibrahim, Harem, Haanyia, and  Merium.

A strong industrial base is vital for survival for a country like Pakistan, Bangladesh, Siri Lanka, Myanmar, Cambodia? Laos and on and on I can go.

A strong industrial base, and not just a vision to spread yourself thin in a circle of no joy -to maintain survival, to sustain, to develop and grow.

Norway remains a role model.

With many thanks and much appreciation from the World Students Society for researcher and author : Syed Rashid Hussain and

With respectful dedication to the Leaders, Students, Professors and Teachers of Norway, and then the entire world. See Ya all on !WOW! -the World Students Society and Twitter-!E-WOW!  -the Ecosystem 2011:

''' Great Models '''

Good Night and God Bless

SAM Daily Times - the Voice of the Voiceless