Oslo Stock Exchange chairman resigns

OSLO, Norway, Dec. 5 (UPI) -- The Oslo Stock Exchange's chairman resigned Wednesday after a mix-up in which the Norwegian bourse chief believed he had disclosed a personal stock sale late.

The exchange later said Halvor Stenstadvold had violated no rules because an automatic disclosure system had reported the deal. But questions also arose about the timing of Stenstadvold's sale.

Stenstadvold originally quit saying he had mistakenly broken the rules over an Aug. 1 sale of 15,000 shares of Norwegian industrial conglomerate Orkla ASA, worth $291,000. He did not inform the exchange until Sept. 19.

"It hit me like a bomb about a month after the sale," he told financial Web site E24. "I reported it then at once to the Oslo Stock Exchange."

He and the Financial Supervisory Authority of Norway first believed he had broken a rule requiring exchange officials to immediately disclose personal stock transactions. But it later determined the sale had been reported in time through the computerized system.

Still, Stenstadvold said he would stick to his decision because of market confusion, an exchange statement said.

In a three-week period after the sale, Orkla shares fell about 20 percent, Norway's Aftenposten reported.

Stenstadvold also is chairman of an Orkla business interest.