Norway’s wealth fund posts US$107b

OSLO - Norway’s sovereign wealth fund, the world’s largest, posted a gain of more than US$100 billion in the first quarter amid the global stock market recovery, it said last week.

The oil fund – as it is commonly known since it is fuelled by the Norwegian state’s oil and gas revenues – had a return of 6.3% in the first three months of the year.

The US$107 billion gain brought the fund’s total value to a dizzying 17.7 trillion kroner (US$1.6 trillion) at the end of March, or almost US$291 000 for each of Norway’s 5.5 million inhabitants.

“Our equity investments had a very strong return in the first quarter, particularly driven by the tech sector,” the fund’s deputy chief executive Trond Grande said in a statement.

Shares, which accounted for 72.1% of the fund’s portfolio, saw a 9.1% return in the first quarter, buoyed by a stock market rally amid the prospect of falling interest rates. The fund is the biggest single investor in the world, with stakes in some 9 000 companies around the globe, and representing 1.5% of the total market capitalisation.

Its bond investments, representing 26% of assets, meanwhile fell by 0.4% in the first quarter. Its real estate holdings and those in unlisted renewable energy projects also fell, by 0.5% and 11.4%, respectively.

Created in the early 1990s, the fund is aimed at financing future spending in Norway’s generous welfare state, as revenue from oil and gas exports are expected to decline over the long term.