Norway 's oil fund registered a 5% return on its investments in the third quarter on continued economic recovery in developed markets and stronger economic activity in China .

Norges Bank Investment Management, or NBIM, the arm of the central bank that manages the fund, said in a statement Friday that the gain equated to 228 billion Norwegian kroner ($38.78 billion). The total value of the fund as of September 30 was NOK4.714 trillion.

Equity investments returned 7.6% while fixed-income investments gained 0.3%, NBIM said.

"Stock market returns in the third quarter were driven mainly by continued economic recovery in developed markets," said Yngve Slyngstad, chief executive of NBIM. "The negative trend in emerging markets continued into the quarter, but higher economic activity in China led a rebound towards the end of the period. Fixed-income investments continue to perform relatively poorly."

The agency said the oil fund, also known as the Government Pension Fund Global, had increased its holding in bonds issued by Brazil, Spain and Germany and decreased its holding of those of the U.S., the financial entity Caja de Ahorros y Pensiones de Barcelona and Canada.

Around 79% of fixed-income investments at the end of the quarter were denominated in one of the four major currencies--dollars, euros, yen and sterling--, down from 81.7% at the end of 2012, the fund said.

The fund held 63.6% in equities, 35.5% in fixed-income assets and 0.9% in real estate at the end of the third quarter.

The oil fund was set up in the 1990s to act as the main investment vehicle for Norway 's vast oil wealth.
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