Issuance of Corporate Bonds in the Norwegian Market

Abstract

At end-2012, the total amount of non-financial corporate bonds outstanding in the Norwegian market came to NOK 270 billion. This accounted for nearly a fifth of the total volume of bonds outstanding. In 2012, non-financial enterprises issued NOK 97 billion in bond debt, accounting for approximately 30 percent of the increase in outstanding debt in the Norwegian market. Since 2000, the Norwegian corporate bond market has been transformed from a small market dominated by utility enterprises into a market characterised by large issue volumes of high yield corporate bonds. In the years following the financial crisis in 2008, there was little growth in the volume of bonds outstanding, though growth picked up again 2012. Enterprises in the shipping, commercial property, manufacturing and electricity and water supply sectors accounted for much of the growth.