Portfolio investment abroad, 2011

Norway’s portfolio investment abroad was NOK 4 447 billion at the end of 2011, of which 54 per cent was in equity securities and 46 per cent was in bonds. The USA was the largest single country in Norway’s portfolio investment. NOK 1 085 billion was invested, of which NOK 438 billion was in bonds. Corresponding data for 2010 show NOK 407 billion in American bonds. At the end of 2011, Norway also had large investments in bonds in the United Kingdom, Germany and France, with NOK 260, NOK 218 and NOK 195 billion respectively. Investment in Italian bonds fell by 33 per cent from 2010, and ended on NOK 63 billion at the end of 2011. The investment in Spanish bonds ended on NOK 115 billion in 2011, which is a 17 per cent decrease from the year before.

The Government Pension Fund dominates

The general government sector, dominated by the Government Pension Fund Global, had a stock position of NOK 3 297 billion in foreign securities at the end of 2011. This is equal to 74 per cent of Norway’s total portfolio investment. Norway’s total equity position for the general government sector was NOK 1 961 billion; a small increase of 2 per cent from the end of 2010. The bonds increased by 6 per cent from 2010, and amounted to NOK 1 336 billion at the end of 2011.

Tables:

• Table 1 Portfolio investment abroad, by type of assets and country. 31.12. NOK million
• Table 2 Portfolio investment abroad, by type of assets and sector per 31.12. NOK million