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The history of Oslo Børs
In the early 1800s, Norway was a country of farmers and fishermen. Christiania, as the capital city was then called, had just 10,000 inhabitants. The Norwegian economy was weak, and money was scarce. This had a crushing effect on business and industry, and it was decided that the country needed a commercial exchange to encourage greater commercial activity.
The merchant Nicolay Andresen is generally recognised as the "father" of the Oslo stock exchange. He made the first proposal for a commercial exchange to the Norwegian parliament in 1818, and a small committee of four leading businessmen was established to progress the idea.