Business manager Petri Roininen knock out by Mikael Jungner the proposal’s energy company Helen’s from listing to the stock exchange.
According to Jungner, who defected from the Liike Nyt party to the coalition just over a week ago, listing on the stock exchange would “definitely” offer benefits to companies with international capabilities, such as Helen.
Jungner justified his view to Kauppalehti in the interview on Saturday by saying, among other things, that “Helen has a listed company-level management, but Helen does not have a listed company-level board or owner”.
The energy company is owned by the city of Helsinki.
“The current ownership arrangement makes Helen an underperformer. That is, compared to what it could be,” Jungner said.
Communications Office Kreabin CEO Jungner is a candidate in next spring’s municipal elections in the ranks of the coalition.
Disagree
Real estate investment company Investors House Oyj:n CEO Roininen disagrees.
Message service in X Roininen, who first published his views, tells Kauppalehti that he is commenting on the matter with the following experience: 10 years as CEO of one listed company and 7 years as chairman of the board of another listed company.
Roininen is the founder and one of the major owners of Investors House, Ovaro Kiinteistösijoitus Plc chairman of the board and chairman of the Finnish Center’s growth group.
Roininen says that strategic infrastructure should not be listed on the stock exchange, because strategic infrastructure does not fit well with the logic of a listed company, i.e. striving to maximize shareholder returns. The latest example of this is according to Roininen Fortum– and Uniper-adventure.
“Strategic infrastructure is good to be owned in such a way that it remains owned,” Roininen says.
“Listed companies are managed in such a way that the aim is to maximize the return of the shareholders. It always includes selling assets, such as networks or power plants, when the economic cycle gets tough. Then again, when they are more affordable, they can be bought.”
Roininen says that he therefore considers it important that strategic infrastructure such as power plants and networks be kept in national ownership.
It would be enough to privatize
Roininen is not against privatization in itself. He says that in Finland there is “a huge amount” of everyday business, such as real estate maintenance companies and road construction companies, which could be privatized.
Roininen refers The Municipal Development Foundation to the number mentioned in the publication in the spring: there are approximately 2,100 municipal companies in Finland.
“We should turn our attention in that direction and define very clearly that strategic infrastructure would remain in public ownership.”