Philanthropist and Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates called on Norway's $800 billion Oil Sovereign fund, one of the biggest investors in the world, to spend more in the poorest countries, gaining the prime minister's support with his proposal.
Gates, who runs the $37 billion Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, said Norway should set aside a portion of the fund to invest in infrastructure in sub-Saharan Africa and Asia, and buy equity in small enterprises that alleviate agricultural and medical problems.
Norway is working on a complete review of the fund, including its investment strategy. Critics say it has become too big and needs to diversify away from stocks, bonds and real estate, and may even need to be broken up into specialized vehicles.
"It is part of our platform that the oil fund should invest more in developing markets," Prime Minister Erna Solberg, who took power last month, said after meeting Gates.
Norway has amassed the world's biggest wealth fund, saving up its surplus oil revenues, and operates it as a sort of endowment, spending only its returns. It is expected to exceed $1 trillion this decade and already owns about 1.25 percent of all global equities, a huge amount for a country of 5.1 million.
Although the review may result in a new investment strategy, Norway's consensus based politics means changes are slow and often take several years.
