Norwegian Sovereign Wealth Fund Records Highest Ever Profits

That the Parliament notes reports that Norway’s sovereign wealth fund returned the highest profit in its history last year; understands that the fund, which is overseen by the Norwegian central bank and stands at $1.8 trillion, is the largest government fund in the world, returned 2.51 trillion Norwegian Krone (NOK), the equivalent of $222 billion, surpassing the record of 2.2 trillion NOK the previous year; acknowledges that the fund, which was created in 1996, was set up to manage revenue from Norway’s oil and gas production; recognises that Norway is an independent country of around 5.5 million people, located in the north west of Europe, with a significant oil and gas industry in the North Sea and that it is currently ranked fifth in the world by the International Monetary Fund in terms of GDP per capita, which is 17 places ahead of the UK; believes that Norway is an example of what Scotland could have been if it had the full powers of independence; condemns the UK Government for what it sees as an immoral waste of Scotland’s wealth from oil and gas revenues in recent decades, and looks forward to the day when Scotland is an independent country, with full control over its own resources and wealth.