Norway seeks to up wealth fund's ownership cap

OSLO, April 4 (Reuters) - Norway's finance ministry on Friday proposed to change the rules governing the country's nearly $400 billion sovereign wealth fund to allow it to hold stakes of up to 10 percent in individual companies.

"The ministry has balanced the desire to underscore the Fund's role as a financial and not a strategic investor against the potential costs of imposing too low a limit," the finance ministry said in a statement.

"The ministry intends to raise the Pension Fund -- Global's limit on ownership stakes in individual companies from 5 percent to 10 percent."

Finance Minister Kristin Halvorsen stressed to a news conference that the fund was "clearly a financial investor and not a strategic investor." (Reporting by John Acher)