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Share prices lift Norwegian state pension fund to new high
Nov 10, 2009, 9:44 GMT
Oslo - Norway's government pension fund has seen a third-quarter gain of 13.5 per cent to 325 billion kroner (57 billion dollars) on the back of rising share prices, fund managers Norges Bank said Tuesday.
The Norwegian Government Pension Fund - Global, was worth some 2.54 trillion kroner at the end of the quarter, the central bank said.
The fund invests income from the country's petroleum and gas riches with entities outside of Norway for the country's future health and pension expenditure.
'The strong upturn in markets in the second quarter continued in the third quarter, leading to a return of 529 billion kroner so far this year,' said Yngve Slyngstad, head of Norges Bank Investment Management.
During the third quarter, 49 billion kroner was transferred to the fund. That was a little higher than in the first two quarters this year but lower than in previous years, the bank said.
The fund currently owns an estimated 1.8 per cent of European equity markets and about 1 per cent of the world's listed companies. At the end of last year, the fund was estimated to own shares in some 7,700 companies worldwide.
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