2006 in figures

Foreign Investor Trades


Foreign investors play a major part in the Norwegian securities market: in December 2006 they accounted for more than 65 per cent of trading on Oslo Stock Exchange.VPS figures show that foreign investors’ share of listed companies’ total turnover continues at a high level in terms of transaction numbers and value alike.

No. of Trade Transactions


Mirroring high activity levels in the securities market, the number of trade transactions settled in VPS’s settlement system has risen steeply in recent years, by some 50 per cent from 2004 to 2005. In 2006 VPS handled an average of more than 2 million trade transactions monthly, not far short of the figure for the whole of 1996.

No. of Mutual Funds Transactions


Market value and the number of holdings of mutual funds registered in VPS continued their upward trend in 2006.
At year-end 1.1 million mutual fund holdings were registered, with a market value in excess of NOK 260 billion. A total of 4.2 million mutual fund transactions were recorded in 2006. The increase in holdings and market value was accompanied by new customer agreements signed in the course of the year.


No. of Investors Holdings in VPS


In general steady growth was noted across the entire VPS register in 2006. The number of VPS accounts rose to 1,430,000 in 2006, with a total of 2.2 million securities holdings. The overall market value of holdings in VPS continued to increase, reaching about NOK 3.3 billion by year-end. The number of investors with access to VPS’ account operator services also rose: by year-end more than 500,000 customers were hooked up to this facility.


No. of Limited Companies in VPS


2006 saw numerous private placings and public offerings, as well as many acquisitions. Private placings were 14 per cent above the 2005 figure, while public offerings and resales totalled 109 compared with 99 the previous year. Particularly pleasing is the addition of 58 new subscribers to VPS Corporate Services in 2006, bringing the total to 349. A further 228 limited companies were registered in 2006, 74 more than in 2005. Moreover, as many as 93 companies used Generalforsamlingrutinen, a VPS online product designed to simplify general-meeting routines.