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Norway fund raises stake in John Keells, sheds Singer and two hotel stocks from portfolio
View(s):By Kapila Bandara
Norway’s trillion dollar state pension fund, which has 17 Sri Lankan companies in its portfolio, has increased its stake in John Keells Holdings Plc, but dropped five other companies and added one in 2024.
The five companies dropped from the US$1.739 trillion Norwegian Government Pension Fund Global are John Keells Hotels Plc., Aitken Spence Hotels Plc., hSenid Business Solutions, Singer Sri Lanka and Union Assurance.
ACL Cables has been added. In 2023, the fund held interests in 21 Sri Lankan companies, but this had beewn trimmed to 17 in 2024.
The mega fund’s biggest holding in Sri Lanka in market value is John Keells Holdings Plc — US$31.462 million. It has 2.4% voting interest in JKH. Hatton National Bank Plc is the second largest holding with a value of US$18.325 million (3.68 % voting interest), Commercial Bank of Ceylon Plc, with a value of US$10.483 million (1.4%) is the third largest.
The fund has a stellar, global, tech-heavy equity portfolio and a part of the 13% annual returns in 2024 include cash payouts such as dividends and real estate rent.
It is managed by Norges Bank Investment Management under the Government Pension Fund Act. The mandate comes from the Ministry of Finance, which outlines strategy (market exposure, stock selection, and allocation) and the investment universe.
Norges Bank, Norway’s central bank, has delegated Norges Bank Investment Management to run the fund, an investor with high operational efficiency and a long horizon. The framework is laid down by the Stortinget, the Norwegian Parliament.
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