Norwegian sovereign wealth fund CEO expects turbulent times | Photo credits: TimOve / Creative Commons
OSLO, May 3 (Reuters) – Norway’s sovereign wealth fund, the world’s largest with nearly 1.2 trillion euros in assets, expects tough market conditions due to geopolitical developments and inflation, its chief executive said on Tuesday.
Price increases, already well underway before the outbreak of war in Ukraine, have continued to accelerate as interest rates are very low and stock prices remain high, he said.
“The geopolitical consequences of the war are difficult to predict, but we are probably heading for the most significant changes for 30 years,” Nicolai Tangen said in his written statement during his hearing before the parliament’s finance committee. Norwegian.
“There is little doubt that rising superpower tensions and challenges to globalization will affect markets,” he added.
The Norwegian fund, which invests all of its assets in foreign stocks and bonds, as well as in real estate markets and renewable energy projects, has “nowhere to hide” and must manage the risks associated with its exposure to world markets,” continued Nicolai Tangen.
“All of this put together means that we are heading for a turbulent period,” he predicted.
(Report Gwladys Fouche, French version Marc Angrand, edited by Jean-Michel Bélot)