Financial assets of NOK 10 trillion

Investments by the Government Pension Fund Global in foreign shares and bonds account for a large share of the general government’s financial assets. At the end of the first quarter, the Pension Fund was valued at approximately NOK 8 000 billion, equal to more than 80 per cent of the central government’s total assets. In addition, assets in the Government Pension Fund Norway were valued at NOK 200 billion.

A significant share of the central government’s financial assets is derived from shares and capital injections in companies that the state owns directly. SDFI, Statkraft, Statnett, NSB and Avinor are all wholly owned by the central government, while publicly traded companies like Statoil, Norsk Hydro, Telenor and DNB are partially owned. Another portion of the state’s assets comprises loans to government lending institutions such as The Norwegian State Educational Loan Fund and the Norwegian State Housing Bank. These in turn provide loans and grants designated for specific purposes.

Triple GDP

As a result of the asset increase in central government, general government net financial assets were nearly NOK 9 400 billion at the end of the first quarter of 2017; almost three times the GDP. The increase in the last four quarters was over NOK 900 billion. Ninety per cent of this increase is attributed to revaluations, while the remainder stems from general government surplus. The Pension Fund Global’s market value is measured in domestic currency, and is therefore highly sensitive to fluctuations between the NOK and the currencies that the Fund invests in. These fluctuations can be large in the short term.