OSLO – Norway’s sovereign wealth fund, the world’s largest, posted a gain of more than US$76 billion (N$1.3 trillion) in the third quarter as the global equities market got a boost from lower interest rates, it said yesterday.

For the July to September period, the fund posted a return of 4.4%, bringing its total value to 18.9 trillion kroner (US$1.73 trillion – almost N$30 trillion) at the end of the quarter, it said in a statement.

“We had a positive return across all our investment areas. Falling interest rates led to a broad rise in the stock market,” said the fund’s deputy chief executive, Trond Grande.

The fund’s share portfolio, which accounts for 71.4% of its assets, posted a return of 4.5% for the quarter.

The fund is the world’s biggest single investor, with stakes in nearly 9 000 companies in 71 countries around the globe and representing 1.5% of the total market capitalisation.

Its bond investments, representing 26.8% of assets, meanwhile rose by 4.2%. Real estate holdings, accounting for 1.7%, climbed by 0.8%. Its holdings in unlisted renewable energy projects, which account for a very marginal share of assets, rose by 10.8%.

The fund’s value, which also fluctuates depending on currency exchange rates and the government’s withdrawals and deposits, has continued to grow since the end of the third quarter.

It is today valued at more than 19.3 billion kroner (US$1.77 billion), according to an official counter on the fund’s site.

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. – Nampa/AFP