Norwegian Government Pension Fund Global, the world’s largest sovereign wealth fund, Global Fund, has raised its Indian bet last year, with portfolio value of over $1.2 trillion and despite Indian stock volatility.
The number of Indian companies that it was invested in rose to 550 at CY24 from 449 the previous year. The fund’s Indian equity investment was worth $30.8 billion at the end of last year, an increase of 28% from the previous year.
India’s holdings as a percentage of its total equity portfolio increased by 2.47% on the 2024 calendar, up 30 basis points from the previous year, data shows.
India’s weight gain occurred in a year when foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold value above £3 lakh in the cash market despite a rise of 8.7% in the country’s benchmark index.
The fund’s top India holdings include HDFC banks that exceed $2 billion, followed by the reliance industry, with market value exceeding $1.5 billion. ICICI Bank, Bharti Airtel and Infosys are other holdings worth over $1 billion. The fund ownership in the two banks increased by 33 and 32 bps over a year, respectively.
Above finances
Within the sector, finance holds the top position with a market value of $9.2 billion, followed by consumer ($5.6 billion) and technology ($3.5 billion) companies.
The fund’s Chinese equity investment was valued at $406.9 billion at the end of December. India has the second largest weight in the MSCI EM index, weighing 19.4% compared to 27.8% in China.
Experts say that the Indian stock market will double within the next five to six years and double within the next five to six years.
The stocks form 71.4% of the fund’s total investment. Its stock portfolio returned 12.5% in the first half of 2024.
Stock investments consist of approximately 9,000 ownership stocks around the world. On average, the fund owns 1.5% of all listed companies.
