Looking ahead: Svein Gjedrem
Oslo counts on oil fund booster
Norway's oil fund is expected to be worth $600 billion within four to five years, almost doubling its balance from the current $350 billion, central bank governor Svein Gjedrem said today.
The Government Pension Fund - Global, commonly known as the oil fund and charged with investing Norway's oil and gas revenues for future generations, is one of the world's biggest pension funds and has expanded rapidly in the past few years as oil prices rallied to record levels.
Knut Kjaer, the head of the fund, said the fund plans to diversify its investments into real estate and private equity.
The fund received government permission in April to boost the proportion of its money invested in stocks to 60% from 40%.
Kjaer said eventually the fund wants to allot 10% to real estate and 5% to private equity. However, the central bank governor said that requires approval from Norway's finance ministry and parliament.
Kjaer said that the fund had no plans to invest in commodities or hedge funds.
The officials were in Shanghai to mark the launch of the fund's first office in Asia, which currently accounts for 20% of its assets under management globally.
"Shanghai is close to key Asian markets and China is the key driver for the Asian region. We also believe Shanghai is going to be a key financial centre in the future," Reuters quoted Gjedrem as saying.