According to NTB’s report, the result is the third weakest since the oil fund’s inception in 1996. Particularly the investments in China have pulled down the fund.
– The slowdown in the world economy and the decline in global equity markets, especially the Chinese stock market, contributed negatively to the return on equity investments, says the head of investment department at Norges Bank, Yngve Slyngstad to NTB.
The Government Pension Fund (widely known as Oil Fund) is a fund into which the surplus wealth produced by Norwegian petroleum income is deposited.
As of the valuation in June 2011, it was the largest pension fund in the world, although it is not a pension fund in the conventional sense as it derives its financial backing from oil profits and not pension contributions. As of 2015 its total value is about NOK 5 trillion ($857.1 billion), holding one percent of global equity markets.