Norway's Sovereign Wealth Fund's South Korean Stock Valuation Down 22 Trillion Won
KOSPI Slump Last Year Leads to Sharp Drop in Valuation
Number of Investment Stocks Reduced from 520 to 485
The scale of South Korean stock investments by Norway's Government Pension Fund Global (GPFG), the world's largest sovereign wealth fund, has shrunk by more than 4 trillion won over the past year. This decrease in the valuation of its stock holdings is attributed to the nearly 10% drop in the KOSPI over the past year. Meanwhile, the fund has raised expectations for a rebound by increasing its purchases of large-cap stocks in sectors such as semiconductors and automobiles.
Valuation Down 16% Over the Past Year
According to disclosures by Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM), which manages GPFG's assets, as of April 24, 2025, NBIM's investments in South Korean stocks last year totaled 164.32279 billion kroner (approximately 22.5664 trillion won). This represents a 16% decrease compared to 196.30817 billion kroner (about 26.6233 trillion won) in 2023. The value of NBIM's holdings is believed to have declined as the KOSPI plunged 9.63% from 2,655.28 at the end of 2023 to 2,399.49 at the end of last year.
The proportion of South Korean stocks in NBIM's portfolio also fell by 0.5 percentage points, from 1.3% in 2023 to 0.8% last year. Beyond the simple decline in value, NBIM also reduced the number of its investment stocks from 520 to 485, signaling a retreat from the South Korean stock market.
As of last year, NBIM invested 1,411.29 billion kroner (1,939.398 trillion won) in stocks across 63 countries. This accounts for 71.4% of its total investment portfolio. The fund's total assets under management amount to 1,975.49 billion kroner (2,713 trillion won), making it the largest pension fund in the world. Japan's Government Pension Investment Fund (GPIF) ranks second with 258 trillion yen (about 2,600 trillion won, as of the third quarter of 2024), and South Korea's National Pension Service ranks third with 1,212 trillion won.
Increased Stakes in Semiconductors and Automobiles
Despite the sluggish South Korean stock market last year, NBIM increased its holdings in the semiconductor and automobile sectors. NBIM's stake in Samsung Electronics rose by 0.03 percentage points from 1.81% in 2023 to 1.84% last year. Its stake in SK Hynix increased by 0.29 percentage points over the same period (from 1.75% to 2.04%). The stakes in Hyundai Motor and Hyundai Mobis also rose by 0.67 percentage points and 0.29 percentage points, respectively.
In contrast, NBIM reduced its stakes in Naver and Kakao by 0.16 percentage points and 0.25 percentage points, respectively, and sold most of its shares in Celltrion, lowering its stake from 1.65% to below 1%.
An industry source explained, "In the case of the semiconductor sector, stock prices fell significantly last year, entering an undervalued phase, and NBIM appears to have made additional purchases in anticipation of a rebound." The source added, "Software companies such as Naver and Kakao may have seen their stock prices become overvalued due to artificial intelligence (AI), and doubts about their growth prospects may also have been reflected."
Meanwhile, based on valuation, the stock NBIM held the most in the South Korean market was Samsung Electronics (approximately 5.985 trillion won). This was followed by SK Hynix (2.696 trillion won), Hyundai Motor (849.19465 billion won), Meritz Financial Group (651.94749 billion won), SK Square (595.16992 billion won), KB Financial Group (587.8664 billion won), and Shinhan Financial Group (566.34845 billion won). Kia, Naver, and Hyundai Mobis also ranked among the top holdings.
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