NORWAY - Norges Bank's executive board has appointed Yngve Slyngstad to succeed Knut N. Kjær as executive director of Norges Bank Investment Management.

Yngve Slyngstad is currently head of equity investments at Norges Bank Investment Management's London office, a crucial role within management of the Government Pension Fund - Global (petroleum fund), but will take up his new post, replacing Kjaer on January 1 2008.

Kjaer announced in September he would be stepping down from his role as head of the comapny, which also manages the Norwegian state pension fund, but has yet to reveal where he will be going, as he has so far stated only - during an interview for the IPE Awards in November - it is likely to be "in the financial industry elsewhere". (See earlier IPE story: Norway fund pushes for more active management)

Slyngstad has been with the organization since it began operating 10 years ago, so knows NBIM very well, according to governor Svein Gjedrem.

Slyngstad, (46), joined Norges Bank in 1998 to head up NBIM's equity management activities.

Assets under management in the Government Pension Fund - Global totalled NOK1.8trn (€223bn) to June 2007, and approximately NOK 880bn (€110bn) is invested in equities, after the fund recently decided to increase its equities allocation from 40% to 60%.

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