OSLO: Norway’s Sovereign Wealth Fund manager and Central Bank governor, Oystein Olsen, said he intended to keep investments in Italy unchanged.
At the moment we’re not planning to increase our investments in Europe, which will remain at 40 percent of our global investments”, Mr Olsen told reporters in Rome.
He spoke after he was asked if he intended to increase investments in Italy.
He was in Italy to attend the workshop promoted by the FeBAF, the Italian Banking, Insurance and Finance Federation, at the headquarters of ABI, the Italian Banking Association.
We don’t look at the single country but at all of Europe. At the moment we’re at around 40 percent and we don’t intend to increase our overall investments”, he said.
The fund puts 39 per cent of its global investments in Europe, 39 per cent in North America, 17.5 percent in Asia and 4.5 percent in the rest of the world.
Olsen said in Italy, the fund has a 2.6 per cent stake in corporate shares, compared to an average 2.4 per cent in the rest of Europe.
During his visit to Italy, Olsen met with the governor of the Bank of Italy, Ignazio Visco.We discussed the economic growth prospects of Europe”, he said.
During the workshop, he made some projections on the macro-economic scenario in the near future.
Current growth prospects seem modest by historical standards, so future returns may also be lower”, he said.
