The long-awaited Arctic arm of Norway’s sovereign wealth fund was officially opened yesterday, with finance minister Jens Stoltenberg declaring the presence of the fund’s offices in Tromsø would help develop business and finance in the north of the country.
The Government Pension Fund in Tromsø (Statens fond i Tromsø), as referred to by the Finance Ministry, is to have an investment limit of NOK15bn (€1.3bn), which may be increased to NOK30bn once it has gained some experience.
It is to invest in Nordic listed companies, with the allocation between Nordic countries to be determined by the size of the various stock markets, according to the government.
Stoltenberg said: “The State Fund in Tromsø will strengthen the financial environment in Northern Norway, and give us access to skilled employees in the North.”
The fund’s presence would also make Tromsø more attractive for both people and businesses, he said.
The Tromsø unit is the newest division of Norway’s overall sovereign wealth fund, which comprises the internationally invested giant fund the Government Pension Fund Global (GPFG), managed by Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM), and the domestic and Nordic investment fund the Government Pension Fund Norway (GPFN), which is run by Folketrygdfondet.
Stoltenberg said Folketrygdfondet had been chosen to manage the Tromsø unit because it had done well with the GPFN and other assignments.
“I am confident that they will also do a good job with the new fund,” he said.
The idea for the Tromsø unit was outlined in the 2022 white paper on the SWF. Apart from bolstering the state presence and asset management environments in the north, it was also seen as a way to alleviate the problem of the GPFN owning too large a stake in Norwegian companies.
In February, Folketrygdfondet, the manager of Norway’s domestic and Nordic sovereign wealth fund, announced the first three manager hires for the brand new Tromsø investment unit.
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Rachel is IPE's Nordic correspondent.
She has long been a freelance writer, and over the years, has written for The Telegraph, The Independent, The Observer, AMWatch and elsewhere.
In 2001, Rachel's personal finance book Kickstart Your Money was published by John Wiley & Sons.View full Profile
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