Tag Archives: Austre Adventfjord
ALARM ABOUT ADVISORIES ACQUIRING AUSTRE ADVENTFJORD (AGAIN): Russia and China (still) interested in coal-rich land near Longyearbyen, attorney tells Norway (and media)

This may sound familiar: Russian and Chinese companies are among those interesting in buying the coal mining rights to a large tract of land near Longyearbyen, an attorney representing the holder of those rights is telling Norway’s government and media.
Unsurprisingly, headlines appear nationwide Wednesday about the prospect of a major advisory gaining a potentially large economic/political foothold in Svalbard after it was first reported by NRK. But the coverage also noted the issue has surfaced repeatedly beginning in 2014 when the family-owned company that owned the land announced it planned to sell it – and how that ended up being what many called essentially a “ransom demand” to pressure Norway’s government into paying a heightened price to buy the land.
Swampland in Svalbard? Norway buys Austre Adventfjord, ‘underscores the government mess in the archipelago’
Riches and refugees: People ask about buying Pyramiden weekly; here’s one guy’s reason – and what he’s eyeing now

(This is a guest column by Jiwoon Hwang)
I’m a newcomer from South Korea. I graduated Draper University’s international entrepreneurship program in Silicon Valley, attended an entrepreneurship program in South Korea and used to enjoy making robots.
When I was traveling Europe, I decided to visit Svalbard. I visited here two months ago. What amazed me was its great scenery and its open-border policy welcoming every world citizen. After going through a seven-week entrepreneurship bootcamp in Silicon Valley, I decided to develop Svalbard as international hub of creativity, entrepreneurship and cosmopolitanism.