Securities registered with the Norwegian Central Securities Depository, Q4 2011

The rise in the value of the VPS-registered enterprises in the fourth quarter of 2011 contributed to reducing the loss of value over the previous two quarters. Holdings of the VPS-registered shares stood at the end of the fourth quarter of 2011 at NOK 1 928 billion, of which NOK 1 494 billion was listed shares and NOK 434 billion was unlisted shares. The listed shares, which include both shares listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange main list as well as the Oslo Axess list, increased in value by 10 per cent in the fourth quarter.

Central government purchase shares

The sector with the highest net purchases of equity in the fourth quarter of 2011 was the central government. Total net purchases amounted to in excess of NOK 5 billion. The entire investment was made in listed shares, and nearly half of the equity purchases were made in state-owned enterprises. The remaining equity purchases were mainly made in foreign enterprises and “other private enterprises”. The net purchases and the strong increase in the value of the companies that the central government has stakes in contributed to the sector’s holdings of shares increasing by NOK 75 billion to NOK 567 billion at the end of the quarter.

Life insurance companies make safer investments

The domestic sector that net sold the most in shares in the fourth quarter was life insurance companies, with net sales in excess of NOK 5 billion. During the same period, life insurance companies net purchased bonds registered with the VPS for NOK 22 billion. The largest share of these bonds was issued by mortgage companies and banks. Placing investment funds in bonds rather than shares is normally associated with lower risk.

Norwegian-registered mutual funds and "other private enterprises" net sold shares in the fourth quarter for NOK 1.4 and 1.8 billion respectively. Households also sold shares for a higher amount than they purchased - net sales totalled NOK 1.3 billion.

Share issues in unlisted shares

As in the previous quarter, few share issues were held in the fourth quarter of 2011. The largest share issues made were in unlisted shares in the bank and life insurance sectors. A share issue of NOK 8 billion was made in an unlisted DNB Bank share. It was the group, DNB ASA, that purchased the shares. This share issue will appear in the statistics as “other financial enterprises” purchasing shares issued by the banking sector.

Foreigners are the largest owners of shares

At the end of the quarter, foreign investors were the largest owner sector of shares registered with the VPS, with a share of 33 per cent. This includes the shares issued by both Norwegian and foreign companies. Central government was the second largest owner of VPS-registered shares, with a share of 29 per cent.

Increased stocks of long-term debt securities

In the fourth quarter, the stock of bonds increased by NOK 46 billion to NOK 1 364 billion. Holdings of short-term bonds fell by NOK 9 billion to NOK 280 billion during the same period. See the statistics “ Bonds and commercial papers ” for more information on which sectors issued the bonds.