OSLO: London has overtaken New York as the top destination for the Norwegian wealth fund’s unlisted real estate investments, a fund report showed on Tuesday.
The $1 trillion fund is focusing on investing in ten locations, which it considers to be global cities that are expected to grow in terms of numbers, employment and trade.
London, New York and Paris accounted for 22.8 percent, 21.5 percent and 19.1 percent of the fund’s unlisted property investments in 2017.
In 2016, New York was first, followed by London and Paris, accounting for 19.2 percent, 17 percent and 13.1 percent, of these investments respectively.
The fund’s unlisted real estate investments corresponded to 2.6 percent of overall assets at end-2017. Its target is to invest up to 7 percent of its value in such properties over time.
The fund is a co-owner of London’s Regent Street and properties on the Champs-Elysees in Paris and Hudson Square in New York. It funnels the revenues from Norway’s oil and gas production, investing in stocks, bonds and real estate.
The fund made its first unlisted real estate investment in Asia, in Tokyo in December, and has eyed investing in Singapore, although it has yet to make a purchase in the city-state.
The fund invested 15 billion Norwegian crowns ($1.94 billion) in unlisted real estate in 2017, taking its total holdings to 219 billion crowns.
London overtakes New York as Norway’s wealth fund top unlisted real estate destination
London overtakes New York as Norway’s wealth fund top unlisted real estate destination
Closing Bell: Saudi main index extends gains as market opens wider to foreign investment
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul All Share Index rose on Monday, gaining 153.61 points, or 1.38 percent, to close at 11,321.09.
The total trading turnover of the benchmark index was SR5.85 billion ($1.56 billion), as 207 of the listed stocks advanced, while 55 retreated.
The MSCI Tadawul Index increased, up 21.20 points or 1.41 percent, to close at 1,524.18.
The Kingdom’s parallel market Nomu gained 278.13 points, or 1.17 percent, to close at 24,013.03. This comes as 43 of the listed stocks advanced, while 29 retreated.
The best-performing stock was Saudi Pharmaceutical Industries and Medical Appliances Corp., with its share price surging by 7.26 percent to SR28.94.
Other top performers included Rasan Information Technology Co., which saw its share price rise by 6.51 percent to SR144, and Knowledge Economic City, which saw a 6.25 percent increase to SR13.09.
On the downside, the worst performer of the day was Najran Cement Co., whose share price fell by 2.11 percent to SR6.49.
Almasane Alkobra Mining Co. and Saudi Cable Co. also saw declines, with their shares dropping by 2 percent and 1.88 percent to SR103.10 and SR166.80, respectively.
On the announcement front, Riyad Bank has announced its annual financial results for 2025, with the total income from special commission of financing reaching SR24.1 billion, while net income from special commission of financing amounted to SR12 billion.
In a statement on Tadawul, the bank said: “Net income increased by 11.7 percent mainly due to an increase in total operating income and a decrease in total operating expenses.”
The bank further noted that the rise in total operating income was primarily driven by increased revenue from fees and commissions, trading activities, special commissions, gains on non-trading investments, and other operating sources. This growth was partially tempered by declines in exchange and dividend income.
“Net provision of expected credit losses and other losses decreased by 15.8 percent due to a decrease in impairment charge of credit losses and impairment charge for other financial assets, partially offset by an increase in impairment charge for investments,” it added.
RIBL’s share price closed at SR18.18 on the main market, marking a 1.43 percent increase.
