Reaching US$1t for 1st time

Norway’s sovereign wealth fund, the largest in the world, yesterday reached the value of US$1 trillion for the first time, the Norwegian central bank, which manages the fund, said.

This amount equals nearly US$189,000 for each of the 5.3 million people living in Norway.

Established in the 1990s to manage the Norwegian state’s oil revenues, the fund set the record thanks to the appreciation of the world’s major currencies against the dollar and a good stock market health.

The fund mainly invests in stocks (accounting for 65.1 percent of the portfolio at the end of the second quarter), but also in bonds and real estate.

With stakes in nearly 9,000 companies, it owns 1.3 percent of the world’s market capitalization, and 2.3 percent in Europe.