The visit started with a Norwegian Buisness Association (NBAS) Luncheon Meeting on 29th June 2010 with the Norwegian Minister of Finance, Mr. Sigbjørn Johnsen, as guest speaker. His presentation, entitled: “The Norwegian Economy—Prospects and Challenges”, drew an audience of over 90 NBAS members. The Finance Minister described how the Government Pension Fund Global started and shared his views on how the Norwegian economy had weathered the global financial crisis.
Wednesday 30th June was the official opening day of Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM). NBIM’s mandate is to manage the investment portfolio of Norway’s Government Pension Fund.
Representatives from the Singapore authorities and local business community, including Singapore’s Minister of Trade and Industry, Mr. Lim Hng Kiang, attended the opening ceremony at The Fullerton Hotel.
“An office in Singapore will strengthen our operations in Asia,” commented Governor Gjedrem. “Having a presence in a region with strong economic growth is important for achieving good management results.”
As one of Asia’s foremost financial centres, Singapore offers good investment opportunities and has a well-developed financial infrastructure. Asset management is a major industry in the country, making it possible for NBIM to recruit and retain skilled workers.
“The new office will be a good supplement to the Shanghai office opened in 2007,” commented NBIM’s CEO Yngve Slyngstad.
The visit concluded with a lecture held by Governor Gjerdrem on “Investing Norway’s Petroleum Revenues for the Future” at Singapore Management University.
Sigmund Kyrdalen has been appointed general manager in Singapore. He is a senior portfolio manager at NBIM and managed NBIM’s London office for two years.
The Government Pension Fund Global had a market value of almost 2 800 billion kroner (USD 434 billion) at the end of June. Around 10 percent of the fund is invested in Asia, and around 15 percent of its equity investments are in Asian companies. The fund was set up in 1990 as a fiscal policy tool to support long-term management of Norway’s petroleum revenue. NBIM manages the fund on behalf of the Royal Norwegian Ministry of Finance, which owns the fund on behalf of the Norwegian people.
Besides Singapore, NBIM has offices in Oslo, London, New York and Shanghai.