Net assets increase by more than 1000 billion

Published:

By the close of the third quarter of 2017, general government net financial assets are estimated at NOK 9.6 trillion. This constitutes an increase of 12 per cent in the last four quarters.

General government gross financial assets are estimated at close to NOK 11 trillion at the end of the third quarter of 2017, according to updated figures from General government, financial assets and liabilities. When debt is subtracted general government is left with NOK 9.6 trillion, almost three times the gross domestic product over the last four quarters and an increase of NOK 1038 billion in the same period.

Figure 1. Net assets in general government by financial instrument

Other accounts Shares and other equity Loans and bonds
1997 19.6 27.4 -1.0
18.7 29.2 2.0
20.4 28.9 1.2
17.3 28.6 6.2
1998 17.1 32.3 4.9
17.3 34.2 4.9
15.0 32.6 5.9
13.7 35.6 8.2
1999 11.1 36.6 9.6
12.2 36.6 8.9
12.2 37.3 8.8
14.4 38.2 8.4
2000 13.5 36.9 11.2
13.6 37.1 12.3
15.7 37.4 12.7
19.0 40.4 11.3
2001 19.3 38.5 13.6
18.3 47.8 19.3
17.7 45.5 19.4
15.8 50.1 21.3
2002 15.1 52.8 22.5
13.8 47.7 24.1
13.5 43.9 23.7
13.5 45.5 22.7
2003 13.8 46.2 22.8
13.4 52.8 25.5
15.6 52.9 24.0
16.3 56.7 23.3
2004 15.9 59.9 25.8
16.5 59.1 27.6
15.1 58.8 29.9
14.7 58.6 31.1
2005 15.3 60.2 32.5
15.1 63.5 34.6
14.5 68.0 36.3
16.6 69.1 36.6
2006 14.8 72.5 38.8
15.9 68.7 39.0
15.3 70.3 44.3
17.4 75.1 42.8
2007 15.0 75.6 47.0
16.6 79.9 46.8
16.8 80.4 42.8
16.2 82.4 41.0
2008 15.2 75.3 39.5
16.8 79.9 35.5
16.8 73.8 33.4
13.0 70.8 40.2
2009 12.8 69.0 34.8
12.4 87.9 36.3
12.8 97.7 35.4
14.0 105.1 35.2
2010 15.2 106.8 36.0
16.5 100.9 38.8
16.3 105.0 39.0
14.3 110.6 38.9
2011 14.3 109.8 39.5
15.3 105.0 40.7
15.3 94.8 42.4
13.2 104.4 42.3
2012 14.9 109.7 39.6
15.8 105.2 42.5
14.1 110.3 43.8
15.3 111.6 41.9
2013 15.1 123.7 44.6
14.9 127.0 46.9
13.2 135.0 49.8
12.8 139.4 55.0
2014 13.6 138.9 55.6
13.6 147.9 60.7
12.8 148.0 61.1
13.6 166.3 68.9
2015 14.3 184.8 72.7
13.5 182.3 70.9
12.4 176.8 78.9
13.2 191.7 80.0
2016 14.9 180.2 78.4
15.6 182.9 80.0
16.1 184.2 76.8
16.0 197.7 75.8
2017 17.2 204.2 74.3
16.9 206.9 74.4
16.2 207.5 70.9

The Petroleum Fund foreign investments dominate

Central government net assets have increased by NOK 1048 billion in the last four quarters. 80 per cent of the total rise stems from the increase in the market value of the Government Pension Fund Global.

Through petroleum extraction the oil reserves are converted into financial capital through the Petroleum Fund, which invests globally in international equities, fixed income and real estate. Since the initial deposit in 1996, the market value of the Fund has grown to approximately NOK 8000 billion by the conclusion of this year’s third quarter. As an ever-increasing share of government assets are made up of the Fund’s foreign investments, which have doubled since 2012, the asset holdings will be increasingly sensitive to revaluations.

Figure 2

Figure 2. Change in net financial assets in general government. Sum last four quarters

NOK 1142 billion in gross debt

General government gross debt, as measured by the Maastricht criteria, has increased by 7 per cent in the last four quarters, and has risen annually since 2014. The debt is now estimated at NOK 1142 billion. This can in part be attributed to steadily increasing local government debt and an increased volume of repurchase agreements on the part of the Pension Fund. The average debt makes up 35 per cent of total GDP over the last four quarters.