Shipping entrepreneur John Fredriksen has promised to invest around half his fortune in the tanker sector.
Speaking to Norwegian business daily Dagens Naeringsliv, he said that it would take a few years to bring the plan to fruition, but he said that he had confidence in the sector.
“You know what is happening out there,” he told the publication’s website, dn.n. “You know that I am an optimist. I shall invest my fortune in tankers, in any case 50% of my fortune – in a year or two.”
He declined to comment on what assets he would sell to pay for finance his plans, but as well as having the majority stake in Frontline, Fredriksen also has major stakes in the drybulk group Golden Ocean, LNG venture Golar LNG and offshore vessel businesses.
A citizen of Norway and Cyprus, Fredriksen mainly lives in London. His personal fortune is estimated to be in the region of $10 bill, according to dn.n.