News
Nov 12, 2009Magma CEO: Iceland Needs Change in Attitude
CEO of Canadian Magma Energy Ross Beaty said during the Capacent Glacier conference at Grand Hotel in Reykjavík yesterday that Icelandic ministers must change their attitude towards foreign investors.
Beaty said he had thought his company was given rather negative coverage last summer because of its investment in HS Energy, Morgunbladid reports.
He explained that Magma considered the investment a long-term project and was planning to develop a large company on a global scale. Their goal is not to steal Iceland’s natural resources, which is what some ministers had claimed.
“It can be difficult to deal with a left-green government, which doesn’t want foreign companies to invest in the country’s natural resources because of ideological reasons,” Beaty said.
He claimed that Magma hadn’t paid a low price for access to Iceland’s natural resources, in fact, some might find it unusually high.
“The best thing about Iceland is great human resources,” Beaty said, adding that he has no doubt Iceland will recover from the depression and Magma is keen on restoring the country’s economy through its investment.
According to a new survey undertaken by Capacent Glacier, both the Icelandic public and the executives of Icelandic companies are positive towards foreign investors, Fréttabladid reports.
The survey concluded that 86 percent of company executives who participated in the poll are in favor of foreign investments and 92 percent believe they are necessary for the economy.
The public is not as keen, yet 70 percent of respondents said they support foreign investments and 81 percent believe they are necessary.
To read this article in its entirety click here.
