Norway will struggle to find buyer for Russian holdings: press
Norway's sovereign fund faces an uphill battle offloading its stakes in Russian gas majors including Gazprom as their valuation has completely collapsed, its CEO told a news conference on March 3, according to Reuters.
The Government Pension Fund of Norway's Russian portfolio that was worth around 27bn kroner ($2.8bn) on December 31 is likely to be valued at just 2.5bn kroner today, CEO Nicolai Tangen told a news conference. "They are pretty much written off," he told Reuters. The Moscow stock exchange has not been open since last week, and Tangen said that made it harder to put a precise figure on valuations.
|
Advertisement: The National Gas Company of Trinidad and Tobago Limited (NGC) NGC’s HSSE strategy is reflective and supportive of the organisational vision to become a leader in the global energy business. |
Oslo said February 27 it had authorised the fund to divest Russian holdings that include stakes in oil companies Gazprom, Lukoil and Surgutneftegas. Together with Oslo's stake in state-controlled Russian bank Sberbank, Gazprom and Lukoil had at least 66% of its exposure. The fund must also avoid selling to individuals covered by sanctions directly.
Western measures in the wake of the Ukrainian war have wiped out Russian stock values, and Oslo has little protection given it holds only equity investments, with 80% of its Russian holdings trading in Moscow, Reuters said. Trading of Gazprom's London-listed shares has been suspended, with the closing March 3 price of $0.58 down from $8.55 just under a month ago.
Tangen said the crisis was "amplifying" market risks and building an inflationary effect that has swept through energy sectors, food and other raw materials "in that part of the world". The fund was reportedly worth 12.3 trillion kroner at the end of 2021.
"We are seeing it in economic growth. All things being equal [we see] lower economic growth," Tangen said. "For companies, the risk is more on the supply chain, with problems that could have an effect."