There are many investment opportunities to be had in Europe’s northern titan.

While there are many unusual features of companies listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange – for example Norway was the first country in the world to mandate gender quotas for listed businesses – our article will focus instead on investing as an outsider, in particular what British investors should consider.

The Oslo Stock Exchange is based in a grand building different in style to those used to the more corporate look of similar exchanges in the USA and UK.

It has been running for close to two hundred years and has ancillary relationships with exchanges in London and Canada to facilitate an easier process for those shares listed on more than one exchange simultaneously.

English investors have tended to shun Norway or think or it as a country with limited investment opportunities, but this is a mistake.

The largest single share is – unsurprisingly – Norwegian giant Statoil, one of the world’s biggest oil companies and a favourite with many pension funds.

However other giants that may be worth a look for those interested in the Norwegian market include Norsk Hydro – an aluminium giant – and Telenor, a telecommunications heavyweight.

For those investing in shares listed in Norway is not a particularly onerous process, as Norway is considered a well-regulated market and as such most brokers will consider the country if they offer the option to invest overseas.

Unlike many emerging and developing markets the exchange has a strong reputation for financial prudence and as a result the main consideration will be to do with the different tax benefits and penalties that such an investment could bring.