Finland and Sweden locked in dispute over TeliaSonera bonuses
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The Finnish state is upset at the way the Swedish government decided to deprive the top management of the telecommunications company TeliaSonera of their bonuses, writes the Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter.
The Swedish state is the largest holder of TeliaSonera stock, and the Finnish state has the second-largest holding.
At the company’s shareholder’s meeting the Swedish government cancelled bonuses for the management - a move which went against a proposal by the company’s Board of Directors.
According to Dagens Nyheter, Finnish Minister of Finance Jyrki Katainen (Nat. Coalition Party) and Minister of Defence Jyri Häkämies (Nat. Coalition Party), who is responsible for issues related to state corporate ownership, have both complained about the matter to their Swedish colleagues, and want to reverse the decision.
Kari Järvinen, CEO of Solidium, which manages the corporate share holdings of the Finnish state, said on Thursday that the Swedish government should have informed Finland of its intentions much earlier. He also criticised the decision itself.
Järvinen sees the issue of bonuses as a whole, which should not have been interfered with in the way that happened now. He says that following the decision, there will be pressures to raise the basic salaries of management.
Sweden’s Minister for Financial Markets Mats Odell regrets that the Finnish government had not been informed about the intention early enough. However, he says that it would not have been possible to wait on the matter until the next shareholders’ meeting a year from now.
The Swedish government also tried to cut the bonuses of the management of the Nordea banking concern, but failed to do so. Nordea’s second-largest owner, Björn Wahlroos, CEO of the Sampo Group.
Helsingin Sanomat
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| 17.4.2009 - TODAY |
 Finland and Sweden locked in dispute over TeliaSonera bonuses |
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