News in brief: 27 August

- The Governor of Norges Bank, Øystein Olsen, has today informed the Ministry of Finance that he wishes to resign from his post in February 2022.

He took up the post of Governor of Norges Bank in January 2011 and is now serving his second six-year term. “There is a time for everything. In January next year, I will turn 70 years of age. This is a natural time to round off a long professional career. I have decided to remain in my post to the end of February next year and finish off with my 12th annual address,” Olsen said.

- Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM), which is responsible for the investments of the Government Pension Fund Global (GPFG), has acquired a 47.5 per cent interest in an office property located at One Memorial Drive in the City of Cambridge, in the Boston metropolitan area, in a joint venture with MetLife Investment Management.

The agreement was signed on 13 July, and the transaction was completed on 26 August. NBIM paid USD 391.9m for its 47.5 per cent ownership interest, valuing the property at USD 825.1m. New financing of USD 414.0m will be placed on the asset. The property was sold by Oxford Properties and a fund managed by J.P. Morgan Asset Management. MetLife Investment Management has acquired the remaining 52.5 per cent interest and will perform the asset management on the property on behalf of the joint venture. The property comprises 409,422 square feet of office space.

- Amundi has announced the expansion of its ESG ETF range with the launch of a new fossil-fuel-free equity ETF, offering broad exposure to Asian Emerging Markets.

Listed on Xetra, the Amundi Index MSCI EM Asia SRI - UCITS ETF DR is offered at a competitive price of 0.25 per cent OGC. Combining its longstanding passive management expertise with leadership in responsible investing, Amundi is ideally positioned to support investors throughout their ESG transition, providing them with a strong range of sustainable equity investment solutions. The addition of this new ETF complements Amundi’s equity SRI filtered ex fossil fuels range, which covers all the major geographic exposures of the equity market.

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