By IANS,
New Delhi : Norway’s sovereign wealth fund, Government Pension Fund Global, is investing $4 billion in India and is focused in the areas of oil and gas, shipping and hydropower, Norway’s envoy to India has said.
Norwegian Ambassador Eivind S. Homme said the Government Pension Fund has a capital of $720 billion and is into petroleum.
“The Pension Fund is actually a petroleum fund. It is investing $4 billion in India. The officials were in India last week,” Homme told IANS on the sidelines of an event to celebrate Norway’s Constitution Day Wednesday evening at the embassy premises.
He said Telenor, the country’s telecommunications company, is also investing $4 billion in India. “There are 100 Norwegian companies in India,” said Homme.
He said India and the four-nation European Free Trade Association (EFTA) are set to conclude a trade agreement which would help boost economic relations with the bloc comprising Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland.
“We hope it will be concluded soon. It will boost economic relations greatly,” said Homme.
Referring to the troubles affecting Telenor after India’s apex court ordered cancellation of telecom licences in 2012 over the 2G scam issue, the envoy said the issues “seem to have been resolved”.
“That also shows that one of our major companies is staying here for the long run and they are serious investors,” he added.
Addressing the Constitution Day celebrations, at which Sudhir Vyas, secretary (West) in India’s ministry of external affairs was the chief guest, Homme said: “We want to be India’s partner in its efforts for high, inclusive and sustainable economic growth to expand our economic cooperation.”