Securities registered with the Norwegian Central Securities Depository, Q4 2010

The fourth quarter of 2010 was the second quarter in a row where foreign investors were net purchasers of stocks. In the third quarter foreigners’ net purchases amounted to NOK 14 billion, while the net purchases amounted to nearly the double in the fourth quarter of 2010. For the whole year of 2010, foreign investors’ net purchases of shares amounted to NOK 18 billion.

Foreigners invest in foreign and domestic companies

Of the foreign investors’ total net purchases of shares, NOK 11 billion were purchased in shares issued by foreign companies registered with the VPS. A significant amount of these purchases were purchases in share issues. The remaining of the foreign investors’ investments in shares, were made in private non-financial enterprises.

Increased interest for insurance companies

The listing of Gjensidige Forsikring ASA in the fourth quarter of 2010 resulted in several sectors purchasing shares issued by companies belonging to the insurance sector. Households net purchased shares for NOK 1.7 billion, while foreign investors and mutual funds net purchased shares worth NOK 2.4 and 4.6 billion, respectively.

Increased stocks of debt securities

Stocks of debt securities registered with the Norwegian Central Securities Depository increased in the second quarter of 2010. The stock of bonds increased by nearly two per cent, to NOK 1 278 billion, and the stocks of short-term debt securities fell by about 2 per cent during the period, to NOK 337 billion.

About the increased stock values

The increase in the values of shares in the fourth quarter of 2010 was caused by rising prices of the shares, but also a high amount of net issues of shares during the quarter. In addition, registration of new shares in the VPS during the fourth quarter of 2010 also had an effect on the figures. Also, some shares which previously were unlisted with a low market value were listed in the fourth quarter with a high market value. Because of this the increases in the market values during the quarter can not solely be explained by net purchases/share issues or increased share values.