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Norway oil fund near trillion crown mark Norway's petroleum fund, a government controlled fund investing wealth for future generations, grew by 4.8 percent in the third quarter to NOK 988.1 billion crowns (USD 157.7 billion), the central bank said on Tuesday. Related stories: Oil windfall to budget - 06.10.2004 Oil fund blossoms - 02.06.2004 Oil fund worth 915 billion - 24.05.2004 The Government Petroleum Fund, invested in foreign stocks and bonds to save money for when Norway's oil and gas resources run out, grew from NOK 942.4 billion at the end of the second quarter. The return on the fund was 1.4 percent in the third quarter, or 0.02 percent below the reference portfolio, the central bank said.The return on bonds was 3.1 percent and on stocks a negative 1.0 percent, it said. The fund has billowed since it was established in 1996. The Petroleum Fund of Norway is owned by the people of Norway. Since 1998 the fund has had permission to invest up to 50 percent of its portfolio in the international stock market. (Reuters/Aftenposte n English Web Desk)
Posts: 89 | From: USA | Registered: Feb 2006
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Nigeria invested their own too, only that they invested in swiss individual bank account. Then when those individuals die not even there children can access the Money.
___________________ Defend your Believes and Integrity. Posts: 130 | From: Smyrna GA | Registered: Mar 2001
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Folks This is where nigeria's oil money has gone.
Do We Laugh, Cry? > > Vanguard (Lagos) > EDITORIAL > September 20, 2006 > Posted to the web September 20, 2006 > > THE increasing kleptomaniac tendency of public office holders in the country got further official confirmation when an official of the Economic Financial Crime Commission, EFCC, disclosed that $100 billion has been stolen from public coffers since 1999. This represents an average yearly loot of N14.29 billion under democratic rule. What can we make of this type of situation? We would have thought that the figures were not true except that the source is not to be taken lightly. > "The major problem in Nigeria is the propensity of leaders to loot the treasury, which is always higher by the day, and the lack of will from millions of Nigerians on the street to do something to stop the ugly trend" said Dapo Olorunyomi, journalist and EFCC Chief of Staff, Press Unit, at a dinner by the Lagos Chapter of the University of Ilorin Alumni Association. He said he released the figures with the instructions of Nuhu Ribadu, EFCC Chairman, though he spoke at the event in his private capacity. > What do we make of these figures? The penchant to steal the nation dry continues to increase by the day among public office holders while the poverty level of the people increases. Who are the individuals or organisations involved? If the EFCC has these figures, it would also know the parties responsible for the stealing. What has it done? What does it intend to do? > Nigerians are aware of the cases that the EFCC has fought vociferously. These cases are nowhere near $100 billion. These figures make the fight against graft forlorn. > Are we supposed to laugh or cry about this? Why is Mr. Olorunyomi suggesting that "million of Nigerians" should do something about a situation the EFCC boasts it is dealing with? > His charge of lack of will on the part of the public is absolutely misplaced. The public suspects that public office holders loot the public till, but this suspicion is usually based on their unbecoming affluence and the fact that billions of Naira budget for projects never seem to reflect on the progress - most lack of progress - of those projects. > Nigeria has laws dealing with problems. The mob is not an alternative to the law. The unsettling thing is that agencies of government like the EFCC think their jobs begin and end with recounting the magnitude of corruption. They add to the despondency. > A United Nations Development Programme, UNDP, research puts Africa's losses to graft at $550 billion annually. Nigeria is weighing in handsomely. The EFCC figures may even be a tip of the iceberg. > Since independence on October 1, 1960, the nation reportedly lost $500billion to graft and leadership greed with no end in sight to this gluttonous trend. If $100 billion has been stolen in seven of the country's 45 years, it stands to reason that corruption since 1999 is exceedingly embarrassing, especially with all the transparency policies that have been promoted since 1999. The ball is back in EFCC's court. It has to prove itself. It should also not admit the failures of its operations by pushing the blame to the public, a very dangerous expectation, we must warn. > The least the public expects is that EFCC prosecute the looters, transparently - and fairly.
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