Norway’s oil fund invests over $700 million in Turkish companies

ANKARA

Norway’s oil fund, the world’s largest sovereign wealth fund, invested around $111 million for a share interest in eight Turkish energy companies as of the end of 2018, according to official figures from Norway’s Norges Bank Investment Management.

From the end of December 2018, the fund invested in 58 different Turkish companies, totaling $707 million.

The giant fund made its biggest energy investment in Turkey’s refinery giant, TÜPRAŞ with $63.6 million followed with an investment of $28.8 million in Ereğli Iron and Steel Mills.

Norway’s fund holds a 1.016 percent share in TÜPRAŞ and a 0.59 percent share in Ereğli.

Norges Bank, the fund manager, also invested $6.3 million in energy company Aygaz, in which the fund has a 0.99 percent share.

In the energy sector, five other minor investments were made in energy companies; Aksa, Petkim, Ulusoy Electric, Enerjisa and steel producer Kardemir.

The fund’s biggest investment overall was in Garanti Bankası with $80.73 million for a 1.28 percent share interest.

Norway’s fund has the largest ownership share in the Doğtaş Kelebek Furniture Company with 4 percent.

The clothing brand Mavi Giyim follows with a 3.29 percent stake.

The Nordic country’s fund also diversified their investments in multiple sectors ranging from communication services, glass and chemicals production, furniture, and food and drinks.

Norway - Europe’s largest oil producer and the world’s third-largest natural gas exporter after Russia and Qatar, has an oil fund currently worth more than $1 trillion.

The Norwegian government can spend only 4 percent of this per year, which is the expected real return on the fund, according to Norges Bank Investment Management, which was delegated by the country’s parliament to manage the fund.

The fund, which controls more than one percent of the world’s market capitalization, enforces ethical standards on its investments.

At the end of December, the fund’s equities allocation was 66.3 percent. Meanwhile, the fund had 3 percent in unlisted real estate and 30.7 percent in fixed income at the end of the year.