Weekly Bulletin issue no. 49, 1996

Foreign debt reduced by NOK 26 billion

For the first time since 1946, Norway moved last year into a net foreign asset position. Net external debt was reduced by NOK 26 billion in the course of 1995, and at the turn of the year Norway's net foreign assets totalled NOK 2 billion, or 0.2 per cent of GDP.

At the end of 1995 foreign assets totalled NOK 419 billion and the debt NOK 417 billion. Assets increased in the course of the year by NOK 33 billion and the debt by NOK 8 billion. The bulk of the asset increase is due to extremely strong growth in life and non-life insurance companies' holdings of foreign securities and increased shareholdings in the oil and wood processing industries.

Increased net foreign assets vis-à-vis EU

Norway's net foreign assets vis-à-vis EU countries increased by NOK 29 billion in 1995, from a net debt of NOK 6 billion in 1994 to net assets of NOK 23 billion in 1995. The most important countries were France, Germany and Sweden, where Norway had net assets totalling NOK 51 billion. Net assets vis-à-vis the Scandinavian members of the EU, Denmark, Sweden and Finland, increased by NOK 20 billion in the course of the year. Norway has, however, a substantial net debt to EU members Great Britain, the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg.

New Statistics

Census of foreign assets and liabilities 1995.
Statistics are published every year in the Weekly Bulletin of Statistics and in the series Banking and Credit Statistics. Current figures. More information: Leiv Ryalen, tel. +47 21 09 45 23, e-mail: lry@ssb.no, Kjersti Halvorsrud, tel. +47 21 09 45 18, e-mail: kbh@ssb.no or Kjell Hammer, tel. +47 21 09 45 13, e-mail: klj@ssb.no.

Weekly Bulletin issue no. 49, 1996