Online broker E*Trade has launched a Norwegian branded site in conjunction with local financial services firm Storebrand Insurance. The Norwegian operation follows launches in neighbouring Sweden and Denmark. The new site offers Norwegian and Swedish stocks and options trading for retail investors in Norway.
Internet penetration in Scandinavia is among the highest in the world, having reached one-third of the population. In Norway specifically, more than 850,000 people are already online and an estimated 1.2 million Norwegians will be online by 2002, according to Computer Economics.
The new site is E*Trade's tenth international venture. "The launch of E*Trade Norway is a natural extension of our strategy to connect markets around the world through a fully electronic cross border trading network," says Judy Balint, chief international officer of E*Trade