The world’s largest sovereign wealth fund has lost more than 19 billion francs in the first half of the year due to the coronavirus crisis.
Fueled by oil revenues from the Norwegian state, the fund was penalized by the fall in equities, which represent the bulk of its investments.
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Norway’s colossal sovereign wealth fund, the world’s largest, lost 188 billion crowns (19.3 billion francs) in the first half of a global economy crippled by the Covid-19 epidemic, the Bank said on Tuesday from Norway.
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Fueled by oil revenues from the Norwegian state, the fund was penalized by the fall in equities, which represent the bulk (69.6%) of its investments: they fell 6.8% out of the six first months. As of June 30, the fund weighed 10.4 trillion kroner, more than at the end of the first quarter.
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“The year started off optimistically, but the outlook for the stock markets quickly turned when the coronavirus began to spread around the world,” fund number two Trond Grande noted in a statement. “However, the sharp decline in the first quarter was limited by a massive response from monetary and financial policies,” he added.
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Real estate investments, i.e. 2.8% of the portfolio, also posted a negative return (-1.6%), while investments in bonds (27.6% of the portfolio) posted a gain of 5.1%. %. “Even though the markets rebounded well in the second quarter, we still see a lot of uncertainty,” said Mr. Grande.
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Controversy over management
Supposed to grow the oil revenues of the Norwegian state, the fund is, moreover, still bogged down in a controversy over its direction. Nicolai Tangen, a billionaire who founded hedge fund AKO Capital in London, is due to take the reins of the huge Norwegian wool sock on September 1, replacing Yngve Slyngstad.
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But voices have criticized possible conflicts of interest as well as its use of tax havens to shelter its investments, while the Bank of Norway, which oversees the fund, is pinned for irregularities and breaches of the law in the process of recruitment. So much so that the arrival of Mr. Tangen at the head of the fund is today questioned by part of the political class.
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(ATS / NXP)
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