Norway Fund Lifts Aussie Debt Holdings, Raises BHP Stake

Norway’s sovereign wealth fund, the world’s largest, almost doubled its investments in Australian bonds and equities last year, boosting sovereign debt fourfold and adding provincial debt securities.

The 4.08 trillion kroner ($715 billion) Government Pension Fund Global held 18.1 billion kroner of Australian federal government securities as of Dec. 31, according to a report released on March 8, up from 4.11 billion kroner a year earlier. The fund also owned notes worth 3.09 billion kroner from Queensland, 1.43 billion kroner from New South Wales and 380.8 million kroner from Victoria. It hadn’t held any bonds from Australian states at the end of 2011.