The chief executive of Norway's sovereign wealth fund, one of the world's largest, said he was concerned about the fiscal future of the US after the downgrade of its debt by ratings agency Standard & Poor's.
The fund is a major holder of US Treasury bonds. "The ratings do not affect our investments but we do share the concern about the long-term fiscal situation in the U.S," Yngve Slyngstad, chief executive of Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM), told Reuters in an interview on Friday.
He added that he was concerned that US Treasury bonds could lose their safe-heaven characteristics over time.
He said he did not have the same long-term concerns about European debt as he did about the US, because European countries have taken painful steps to reign in debt and stimulate growth.
The fund hoped to channel more investments into domestic bond markets of emerging countries, he said, urging countries with restrictions on such investment from abroad, including China and Brazil, to lift them.
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