Norway's sovereign wealth fund, the world's largest, invested over $1.31 billion (TL 39.79 billion) in company shares in Türkiye as of the end of 2023, according to the data compiled by Anadolu Agency (AA) from Norges Bank on Wednesday.
Accordingly, the fund worth more than $1.5 trillion overseen by Norges Bank invested a portion of its holdings in 39 diversely sized businesses operating in various industries last year.
The fund's portfolio in Türkiye included shares worth approximately $146 million in three energy companies: Turkish Petroleum Refineries A.Ş. (Tüpraş), Galata Wind Enerji A.Ş, and the country's first and largest flat steel producer, Ereğli Iron and Steel Factories (Erdemir).
Refinery operator Tüpraş received the largest share of the wealth fund investment in Türkiye. The fund owns a 1.3% stake in the company, with a total investment of approximately $121.7 million.
The fund invested $106.15 million in Koç Holding, $90.98 million in Birleşik Mağazalar A.Ş (BIM), $73.89 million in Akbank, $63.34 million in Turkish Airlines (THY) and $60.54 million in Aselsan.
The fund's largest percentage stake in the Turkish portfolio is in Mavi Giyim Sanayi and Ticaret A.Ş., which holds a 4.18% interest with an investment of $32.73 million.
Yataş A.Ş. and Is Investment A.Ş. followed with the fund holding a 3% share in each. The total amount invested in the shares of these companies amounted to $3.68 million and $48.74 million, respectively.
Since 2008, the Norwegian Wealth Fund has boosted its holdings in Turkish company equities, having previously made modest investments in Türkiye since 2001.
Since 1990, the Norwegian Wealth Fund has invested in foreign stocks, bonds and real estate markets with the country's oil and natural gas production returns.
Just a small percentage of the fund's earnings are available for use by the Norwegian government and the majority must be set aside for future generations.
Last year, the fund invested in 8,859 companies in 65 countries, and in recent years, the fund has invested heavily in renewable energy projects.
The market capitalization of the fund reached 15.77 trillion Norwegian kroner ($1.51 trillion) as of Dec. 31, 2023.
The Norwegian Wealth Fund is also interested in stakes in major companies operating in the transportation, chemical, automotive, software and steel sectors in Türkiye.
The fund had increased its investments in Türkiye from $485 million in 2021 to $1.22 billion in 2022.
The fund management said in a recent statement that, following a "weak" 2022, a record-breaking $213 billion profit was achieved last year.
The fund's most valuable company stakes were in Microsoft, Apple and Nvidia. The most valuable non-tech stock was pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk, which came in eighth place.
The fund's return on investment in 2023 stood at 16.1% for the year, 0.18 percentage points lower than the return on its benchmark index, as per a Reuters report earlier this week.
