Norway sovereign wealth fund hits record profit in 2023

OSLO: Norway’s sovereign wealth fund, the world’s biggest, said Tuesday it raked in a record profit of 2.2 trillion kroner ($213 billion) last year, driven by tech stocks and a weak national currency.

The fund’s total value reached close to 15.8 trillion kroner last year.

The 16.1 percent return follows a huge loss in 2022.

“Despite high inflation and geopolitical turmoil, the equity market in 2023 was very strong, compared to a weak year in 2022,” said Nicolai Tangen, the chief executive of Norges Bank Investment Management.

“Technology stocks in particular performed very well,” Tangen said in a statement.

Fuelled by revenues from Norway’s state-owned oil and gas companies, the fund is aimed at financing future spending in the generous welfare state.

Around 71 percent of its portfolio was dedicated to equities, with stakes in 8,859 companies worldwide — or 1.5 percent of all listed stocks.

The return on its equity investments last year was 21.3 percent.

Its investment in tech shares has grown, accounting for 22.3 percent of its total equity investments last year compared to 14.5 percent in 2019.

The fund’s portfolio includes US tech giants Microsoft, Apple and Google owner Alphabet.

The return on its bond holdings was 6.1 percent while real estate investments fell 12.4 percent amid higher interest rates.

The fund also invests in unlisted renewable energy projects, which generated a return of 3.7 percent.

The decrease in the value of the kroner contributed to an increase in the fund’s value of 409 billion kroner.