Transparency surrounding owners, ownership structures and power relations in business is a fundamental value in Norwegian society. Transparency can increase trust in the capital markets, be important for contracting parties, safeguard national security and help prevent financial crimes. The rapid development of technology has created an increased expectation that information about owners is more easily accessible to the public.
All limited companies are required to keep an overview of their own shareholders in a shareholder book or shareholder register. Although everyone has the right to access this, the information it contains is currently only released upon request and must be obtained from each individual limited company.
The shareholder book or shareholder register kept by limited companies only provide information about who owns the shares at the time of recording. This information is released upon request and often at a cost to the requester. It is also possible to access information about shareholders in the Norwegian Tax Authorities shareholder register. However, in practice, this means of access is not perceived to be easily accessible.
