OSLO, Sept. 19 (Xinhua) -- Norway's sovereign wealth fund on Tuesday hits 1 trillion U.S. dollars in value for the first time, the fund said in a statement.
A strengthening of the world's major currencies against the U.S. dollar, combined with strong equity markets, have rapidly increased the dollar value of the fund in 2017, it said.
The fund is formally known as the Government Pension Fund Global (GPFG) and ranked as the world's biggest sovereign wealth fund.
"I don't think anyone expected the fund to ever reach 1 trillion dollars when the first transfer of oil revenue was made in May 1996," said Yngve Slyngstad, Chief Executive Officer in Norges Bank Investment Management, which is the part of the Norwegian central bank responsible for managing the fund.
"Reaching 1 trillion dollars is a milestone, and the growth in the fund's market value has been stunning," he added.