Lifted by Asian tech stocks, Norway wealth fund posts record profit

Lifted by Asian tech stocks, Norway wealth fund posts record profit

Photo by Maryan Ivasyk on Unsplash

Norway’s $2.3 trillion sovereign wealth fund, the world’s largest, posted a record profit of 1.75 trillion Norwegian crowns ($184.3 billion) for the first half of the year, lifted by technology stocks, it said on Wednesday.

Investing the Norwegian state’s revenues from oil and gas production, the fund owns on average 1.5% of all listed companies globally, making it the world’s largest single investor.

“The result is driven by good returns in the equity market, particularly from Asian technology stocks,” CEO Nicolai Tangen said in a statement accompanying the half-year results.

The fund late on Tuesday announced for the first time that it held a 0.05% stake in SpaceX worth $1.22 billion as of June 30, in an updated list of its holdings.

That stake was modest when compared with its other tech holdings.

It held a 1.28% stake worth $62 billion in Nvidia, a 1.24% stake worth $52 billion in Apple, a 1.17% stake worth $50 billion in Alphabet, a 1.27% stake worth $35 billion in Microsoft and a 1.7% stake worth $34 billion in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, fund data showed.

Overall the fund is invested in around 7,100 companies globally. It also invests in stocks, property and renewable projects.

SpaceX shares rallied sharply in the wake of its record-breaking IPO in late June, then pulled back sharply as investors questioned whether a lofty valuation of 77 times expected revenue could be justified.

Reuters

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