ARENDAL, Norway: Norway's $1.4 trillion sovereign wealth fund, the world's largest, posted a 9.4% return on investment for the first half of the year on Wednesday as the value of its equities portfolio surged.

       The fund earned 990 billion Norwegian crowns ($111 billion) in the January-June period, 0.28 percentage point higher than the fund's benchmark index.

       "The equity investments had the most positive contribution to the return in the first half of the year, and especially the investments within the sectors of energy and finance," Chief Executive Nicolai Tangen said in a statement.

       "The investments in energy companies returned 19.5%," he added.

       The return on the equity investments was 13.7%, while fixed income saw a negative 2.0% return. ($1 = 8.9129 Norwegian crowns) - Reuters