2021 saw a strong year for the energy sector amid recovering global economies, and Norway couldn’t be happier as it saw record numbers last year.
Demand for oil and gas soared to greater heights, feeding into strength for Norway. The sector powers 50% of the country’s economy, so strength in the energy sector (especially oil and gas) translates to prosperity.
“In spite of the climate crisis, Norway’s love affair with petroleum seems to be continuing. Never before has the country enjoyed such high revenue from its oil and gas industry,” a Life in Norway article says. “The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate said 2021 had been a ‘great year’ for oil and gas in Norway. Oil and gas production has remained high as both demand and prices have increased.”
“In the final quarter of 2021, Norway’s oil and gas exports reached more than NOK 100 billion (USD $11.5 billion) per month. That’s almost three times more than in the same period the previous year,” the article adds.
Of course, Norway understands that oil and gas revenue expectations for the future will be affected by a move towards green energy. As such, the country is also looking to bolster its renewable energy sources with investment dollars.
“Norway is investing heavily in green technology projects especially in the area of offshore wind power and carbon capture and storage technology,” the article says further.
Norway Exposure in One ETF
An easy way to get exposure to Norway’s equities is via an exchange traded fund (ETF) wrapper. One to consider is the Global X MSCI Norway ETF (NORW ).
As per the fund description, NORW seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance, before fees and expenses, of the MSCI Norway IMI 25/50 Index. The fund invests at least 80% of its total assets in the securities of the underlying index and in American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) and Global Depositary Receipts (GDRs) based on the securities in the underlying index. The underlying index is designed to represent the performance of the broad Norway equity universe.
NORW gives investors:
- Efficient access: The ETF represents a broad basket of Norwegian securities.
- Targeted exposure: The fund targets exposure to a single country, but also has diversified exposure in terms of business sectors, with financial, energy, and consumer staples being the top three.
- Semi-annual distributions: NORW has a fixed income component that pays twice a year (1.84% yield as of January 27, 2022).
- A strong 12-month performance: NORW is up 12% since January.
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