Norway Oil Fund Buys Zurich Property From Credit Suisse For CHF1 Billion

   By Charles Duxbury 
 

Norway's central bank said Thursday that the country's oil fund has agreed to pay Credit Suisse (CS) 1 billion Swiss francs ($1.08 billion) for an office complex in Zurich.

The central bank, which through its unit Norges Bank Investment Management manages the oil fund, said in a statement that Credit Suisse will lease the office complex back for 25 years.

The office complex, known as Uetlihof, located to the southwest of Zurich's city centre, is Credit Suisse's main office.

This is the oil fund's first investment in Swiss property. It has previously invested in property in the U.K., France and Germany.

Norway's oil fund, also known as the Government Pension Fund global, is the country's sovereign wealth fund where it deposits much of its oil revenue. It has a market value of about $650 billion.

The oil fund's move into property comes after Norges Bank received a mandate in 2010 to invest up to 5% of its assets in real estate.

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