Norges Bank’s investments in Lankan stocks top US $ 98mn in 2018

• Single biggest investment of US $ 18.3mn in JKH
• Banking sector accounts for fund’s 46% of investments

Norway’s trillion dollar sovereign wealth fund, the world’s largest, managed by the Norwegian Central Bank, Norges Bank, had investments to the tune of US $ 98.3 million in Sri Lankan stocks by end of last year.

According to the official website of Norges Bank Investment Management, the asset management unit of Norges Bank, the fund had investments in 16 Lankan companies, with the single largest investment of US $ 18.3 million in John Keells Holdings PLC.

About 46 percent of the fund’s Sri Lankan investments were in the banking sector, as the fund had US $ 16.7 million worth investments in both voting and non-voting shares of Commercial Bank of (Ceylon) PLC, US $ 14.7 million investment in Hatton National Bank PLC (HNB) voting and non-voting shares and US $ 10.7 million investment in Sampath Bank PLC shares. 

The fund, which is often referred to as Norwegian oil fund, which manages the Norway’s Government Pension Fund Global, had total investment of US $ 85 million in 14 Lankan listed firms in 2017.