Atlantica - 01.11.2002, Qupperneq 42

40 A T L A N T I C A
Privatisation and
Consolidation
This autumn, Landsbanki Íslands hf.
(Iceland's oldest full-service commer-
cial bank) held its third Iceland
Investment Colloquium in Reykjavík.
The Colloquium has now become a
Landsbanki tradition and attracts a
number of senior foreign bankers
from the international banking com-
munity.
Amongst the speakers at this year’s
event was Davíd Oddsson, the Prime
Minister of Iceland. In his speech,
Oddsson said that the economic
reforms of the past decade had trans-
formed the Icelandic economy from a
cyclical one to one driven by dynamic
and progressive market forces, allow-
ing the nation to enjoy high living
standards. The framework for sus-
tainable economic growth in Iceland
was now in place. The Prime Minister
took the opportunity to map out his
vision for the Icelandic financial sec-
tor. In his view, the State should with-
draw from the financial markets and
the ongoing privatisation process
was a part of that strategy.
Other speakers included Halldór J.
Kristjánsson, Landsbanki’s CEO, as
well as several prominent business
leaders from Iceland and abroad.
Kristjánsson spoke on the first
steps towards consolidation of the
Icelandic financial sector. The consol-
idation would be driven by the need
for greater rationalisation and cost-
efficiency of the Icelandic banks, in
line with their Scandinavian peers.
Icelandic banks have also begun to
establish operations overseas, in part
to support Icelandic corporations,
which are increasingly becoming
internationally focused. In Lands-
banki’s case, about 20% of the
Landsbanki Group’s income is con-
tributed by Heritable Bank, a London-
based bank specialising in residential
development finance. Mr. Kristjáns-
son envisioned a future with three
large banking groups, offering com-
prehensive financial services, includ-
ing bankassurance and significant
foreign operations. These banking
groups would provide ample domes-
tic competition and would be of simi-
lar size as some of the smaller
Scandinavian banks.
BAKKAVÖR GROUP – RANKING 2
Founded 1986
Nominations on Europe’s 500: 2
Activity: Production, sale & distribution of
chilled food products
Business Category (SIC): Industrial products &
services
2001: 1996:
Employees: 1,900 30
Turnover (per 1,000 Euro): 67.131 8.153
BAUGUR GROUP – RANKING 57
Founded 1998
Nominations on Europe’s 500: 1
Activity: Wholesale and retail as Iceland's lead-
ing food and specialty retailer
Business Category (SIC): Consumer products &
services
2001: 1996:
Employees: 3,440 1,130
Turnover (per 1,000 Euro): 475.799 213.927
OPIN KERFI PLC. – RANKING 79
Founded 1995
Nominations on Europe’s 500: 2
Activity: Provision of total computer solutions &
service for Icelandic companies and institutions
Business Category (SIC): Services
2001: 1996:
Employees: 358 24
Turnover (per 1,000 Euro): 67.542 10.800
DECODE GENETICS INC – RANKING 120
Founded in 1996
Nominations on Europe’s 500: 1
Activity: Conducting research into
the inherited causes
of common diseases
Business Category (SIC): Human/pharma biotech
2001: 1997:
Employees: 600 100
Turnover (per 1,000 Euro): 35.943 14.445
TÖLVUMYNDIR – RANKING 129
Founded 1986
Nominations on Europe’s 500: 4
Activity: Software development for the fishing,
financial, health and utilities sectors
Business Category (SIC): General IT services -
Systems house
2001: 1996:
Employees: 210 15
Turnover (per 1,000 Euro): 17.108 773
ÖSSUR – RANKING 183
Founded 1971
Nominations on Europe’s 500: 4
Activity: Prosthetics and orthotics
Business Category (SIC): Industrial products &
services
2001: 1996:
Employees: 392 67
Turnover (per 1,000 Euro): 76.153 7.816
DELTA LTD. – RANKING 385
Founded 1981
Nominations on Europe’s 500: 2
Activity: Development, production and know-
how of generic pharmaceuticals
Business Category (SIC): Pharmaceuticals
2001: 1996:
Employees: 200 72
Turnover (per 1,000 Euro): 61.321 8.640
TEYMI – RANKING 421
Founded 1995
Nominations on Europe’s 500: 1
Activity: Software distribution/reseller, ser-
vices, support & education for Oracle corpora-
tion
Business Category (SIC): General IT services -
Systems house
2001: 1996:
Employees: 50 8
Turnover (per 1,000 Euro): 9.100 1.400
Europe's Most Dynamic
Entrepreneurs
Europe's 500 is an annual pan-European, cross-sector listing honouring 500 of
Europe's most outstanding companies. The 2002 listing identified and selected 500
fast-growing, independent and job-creating companies based on their performance
between the beginning of fiscal year 1996 and the end of fiscal year 2001. This year
Iceland has eight companies on the list, the highest number to date. Here are the
Icelandic selectees.
For further information go to www.growthplus.org/E500
ICELAND BUSINESS
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