Norway's Wealth Fund Posts $107 Bln First Quarter Gain

Oslo, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 18th Apr, 2024) Norway's sovereign wealth fund, the world's largest, posted a gain of more than $100 billion in the first quarter amid the global stock market recovery, it said Thursday.

The fund -- fuelled by the Norwegian state's oil and gas revenues -- saw a return of 6.3 percent in the first three months of the year.

The $107 billion gain brought the fund's total value to a dizzying 17.7 trillion kroner ($1.6 trillion) at the end of March, or almost $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 percent of the fund's portfolio, saw a 9.1 percent return in the first quarter, buoyed by a stock market rally amid the prospect of falling interest rates.

The fund is the world's biggest single investor, with stakes in some 9,000 companies around the globe and representing 1.5 percent of the total market capitalisation.

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