Egil Matsen, Deputy Governor of the Bank of Norway (AFP/NTB scanpix / VIDAR RUUD)
Norway’s sovereign wealth fund, the largest in the world with some 1.7 trillion euros in assets, has excluded two Israeli and Russian groups under its ethical rules, the Norwegian central bank announced Tuesday evening.
The fund withdrew from the Israeli telecoms group Bezeq, accused of providing its services to Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, illegal under international law.
In its argument, the Ethics Council, an advisory body which guides the fund’s investments, notes that Bezeq also claims to serve territories inhabited by Palestinians in the West Bank.
But, he emphasizes, “this cannot compensate for the fact that the company, through its presence and the provision of telecoms services to Israeli settlements in the West Bank, contributes to facilitating the maintenance and expansion of Israeli settlements (. ..) thereby contributing to the violation of international law.”
The fund also divested from Evraz, a Russian steelmaker listed in London, which supplies steel to the Russian defense industry, thus facilitating, according to the Ethics Council, “the illegal war of aggression led by Russia against Ukraine.
Failing to receive responses to its multiple requests, the Ethics Council says it has recommended to the Bank of Norway that the Russian company be excluded from the fund’s portfolio.
As of June 30, the fund owned 0.76% of Bezeq, a share then valued at nearly $23.7 million, and 0.96% of Evraz, or a value of $1.4 million.
The Bank of Norway always announces its divestment decisions after selling its shares in the companies concerned.
Fueled by state oil and gas revenues, Norway’s sovereign wealth fund is the largest individual investor in the world.
With shares in nearly 8,800 companies and 71 countries, it holds on average 1.5% of all listed groups on the planet.
