World's Biggest Reserve Fund Sustains Record Losses Amid COVID-19 Outbreak

Last month, Norway decided to establish a coronavirus crisis fund worth at least 100 billion Norwegian Krones ($10 billion) to secure company liquidity amid the pandemic.

The Government Pension Fund of Norway, the world's largest sovereign wealth fund, has sustained record losses amid the coronavirus pandemic, according to Bloomberg. The losses equate to 1.17 trillion Norwegian Krones or $113 billion.

The losses came after the government had to sell devalued assets in order to implement anti-crisis measures.

The fund's shares dropped by 21.1 percent, while the total cost of active assets dropped by 14.6.

The fund is the largest in the world with a total amount of active assets surpassing one trillion dollars. It's financed from the country's sales of oil and gas, and according to Norwegian law, spendings on current needs can't exceed 4 percent of the total assets.

However, amid low oil prices and the coronavirus pandemic, the government has decided to increase the 4 percent threshold to cover the budget deficit.

Last February, the fund returned record profits amounting to nearly 20 percent amid a sharp rise in the world's stock markets.