Norwegian sovereign fund buys Tokyo property

Norway´s sovereign wealth fund, the largest of its kind in the world, has acquired major stakes in five retail and office buildings in Japan.

It comes less than a month after the $1tn fund proposed to discontinue investing in oil & gas stocks as it seeks to diverse the fund away from oil.

The fund is to pay ¥92.75bn ($828m) to acquire a 70% stake in the Tokyo buildings, with the remainder and the management of the properties to be assumed by Tokyu Land Corporation.

Deals

While the investment marks the Norwegian fund´s first purchase of Asian property, it has also been considering similar deals in Singapore.

Overall, around 2.5% of the fund is invested in property, unlisted assets worth about $25bn.