Davos – Røkke Pays for Norwegian “Elite Party” at E24

On Monday evening, Norwegian business leaders gathered for dinner in Davos. But the man who pays for the cheese the participants eat does not appear.

This time the Norwegian participants at the World Economic Forum (WEF) will be hosting a reception hosted by Røkke company Aker.

– It is true that we will organize a party this year. It will be the 25th day in a row, Acre's press manager Adele Gijen tells E24.

Despite the fact that his own company is paying for the gala, billionaire and investor Kjell Inge Røkke is conspicuous by his absence.

– No, he didn't come, says the press manager.

– Simple dinner

Around 40 guests are expected to attend the “Norway” dinner.

– It is a continuation of a tradition. It will be a simple dinner in the traditional style, says Kijen.

The company will serve Swiss fondue, which is traditional, and the cover price is over NOK 1,000 per person, he says.

– That place is the Seehof Hotel in Davos, there too Last year's dinner was held.

According to Own websites The hotel offers both classic Swiss cheese fondue, Chinese fondueChinese fondueA variant with meat and truffle fondue with cheese. It is served with fruity cognac kirsch and a “beautiful selection” of white and red wines.

NOK 91,857

Several big Norwegian names are coming to Davos next week. French President Emmanuel Macron and Chinese Premier Li Qiang will also be present there.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg is one of them. According to him, he will not only participate in plenary talks but also meet with international leaders NATO.

The Norwegian government is sending Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide (Ap) and Development Minister Anne Beathe Tvinnereim (Sp).

The total expenses for the two's flight and hotel were NOK 91,857, foreign ministry communications adviser Kuri Solberg told E24 in an email.

Ministers stress that the WEF is a forum where important issues such as trade, green transition and food security are raised.

– The World Economic Forum is a focal point for meeting colleagues and decision makers from around the world. Work on green change, trade and climate will be central, Barth Aid said in a statement.

The oil fund was called

Chairman Nikolai Dangan, his personal assistant Grete Starheim and communications director Marthe Scar will be from the Oil Fund (NBIM). In the Alpine city, they will spend time in meetings with leading investors and companies.

– The Davos summit is primarily a useful meeting place for us, Scar writes in an email.

He also points out that Davos is a good place for Oil Fund to promote its message as a long-term and responsible owner.

– The two main themes of this year's conference are AI and climate risk, themes that we focus heavily on in finance.

Tangen, Starheim and Scar have been invited directly by the WEF, so Scar says they don't have to pay to participate.

– Good tradition

Several top managers from Norwegian business are also traveling to Davos:

• DNB CEO Kjerstin Braathen
• CEO Sigve Brekke at Telenor
• Hydro CEO Hilde Mered Asheim
• Svein Tore Holsæther, CEO at Yara
• DNV CEO Remi Eriksson
• Anders Optal, CEO at Equinor

Braden, Bracke and Erickson go to the welcome party.

– It is a good tradition for Norwegian participants at the conference to attend a joint dinner on the first day, writes Westerveld, Executive Vice President for Communication and Sustainability at DNB, to E24.

Yara says she's sending Magnus Ungerstrand, the head of Yara Clean Ammonia, to dinner.

The Hydro manager will not be able to attend Monday evening's meeting, but will be briefed on several events during his stay.

Equinor did not respond to questions about whether their ambassadors were going to the fondue party.

Fert's president and owner, Johan H. Andresen has also been a regular attendee at Davos. Last year He is survived by his daughter Katharina G. He took Andresen.

Fert did not respond to whether they are sending participants to this year's summit.

Too expensive for Hagen

It became known on Thursday Long-time Davos stalwart Steiner Eric Hagen pulled out of the summit.

Hagen, who is the largest owner in Orkla through family company Canica, told VG that the group had narrowed down everything they had to prioritize.

– One of the smoking entries was a trip to Davos. He told the newspaper that Orkla had no priority work at the time, which was expensive.

The group is a member of the WEF, which is estimated to cost up to NOK four million.

High price level

Norwegian companies pay millions for Davos participation. DNB, Telenor and Equinor are both partners in WEF.

Telenor says their membership is NOK 3 million. Equinor says it will pay 300,000 Swiss francs (about NOK 3.6 million) for its merger in addition to the participation fee. DNB does not disclose what they pay.

Aker, Hydro, Yara and DNV are listed as category partners on the conference website.

When asked what Telenor is getting out of its partnership, information manager David Fitzgeland says collaboration has never been more important, so being in Davos is important.

– Telenor's participants have an extensive program with many meetings with partners, customers and investors. Traveling them around or taking them to Oslo would be too time-consuming or impossible to do efficiently, Fitgeland writes in an email.

– What do you think about the price level?

– The price level is high, no doubt about it. We continue to evaluate whether costs are relative to yield, but this will be a very valuable arena for Telenor.