Finance minister says Landsvirkjun’s capital is not free

Finance Minister Daði Már Kristófersson said there is no such thing as free capital, during an unscripted question session in parliament on Monday, mbl.is reported. He was responding to questions about the dividend policy of Landsvirkjun, a state-owned company.

Bergþór Ólason, an MP for the Centre Party, asked why the company’s board had proposed a dividend of 165 million US dollars, nearly 20 per cent more than the amount allowed for under a dividend policy approved on the same day.

Ólason said the proposal had been approved by the board in February, discussed again at the company’s annual meeting on March 3 and confirmed at its annual general meeting on April 21. He also referred to the planned departure of Landsvirkjun chief executive Hörður Arnarson, who had announced the previous week that he would step down after 17 years.

Kristófersson said the dividend had been set under the policy in force at the time, while the policy proposed and approved at the annual general meeting looked ahead. He said Landsvirkjun was the first Icelandic state-owned company to adopt a dividend policy and thanked its former boards and chief executive for their foresight.

“There is no such thing as free capital. Capital tied up in state-owned companies costs just like any other capital,” he said.