Rapid increase in general government net financial assets

General government increased its net financial assets by NOK 98 billion from 1996 to 1997. This entails an increase of about 26 per cent. At the close of 1997 these net financial assets amounted to NOK 471 billion. The rapid growth of the Norwegian Government Petroleum Fund accounted for the greatest share of this increase.

The increase in general government net financial assets is mainly due to greater financial assets in the central government. From 1996 to 1997 the net financial assets of the central government increased by NOK 86 billion or nearly 27 per cent. The main reason for this increase was increased financial assets in the Norwegian Government Petroleum Fund. From 1996 to 1997 the Fund's capital increased by NOK 67 billion. At the close of 1997 the capital in the Petroleum Fund thus amounted to NOK 114 billion compared with NOK 47 billion in 1996.

The central government's financial liabilities declined slightly from 1996 to 1997. Thus, it is primarily the increased financial assets that account for the growth in the central government's net financial assets from 1996 to 1997.

Net financial assets in municipal government increased by NOK 12.5 billion from 1996 to 1997. This increase is related to the write-up in the value of shares of and loans to many municipal energy utilities.

Tables

New Statistics
General government financial assets and liabilities, 1997.
The statistics are published annually in the Weekly Bulletin of Statistics. For more information, contact: Thomas.Olsen@ssb.no, tel. +47 21 09 48 56, Jon.Petter.Nossen@ssb.no, tel. +47 21 09 45 01 or Rune.Bye@ssb.no, tel. +47 21 09 45 14.

Weekly Bulletin issue no. 50, 1998