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Norway’s sovereign wealth fund has disclosed plans to scale back its investments in Israeli companies.
The decision follows a review prompted by the deteriorating humanitarian conditions in Gaza and the West Bank.
The fund, which is an extension of Norway’s central bank, has recently ceased its relationships with external asset managers who previously oversaw some of its Israeli investments.
As a result, the fund has already divested from 11 Israeli firms, although it has not publicly named these companies.
A Reuters report suggested that the review was accelerated after the fund’s investment in an Israeli jet engine company came to light, a company known for providing maintenance services to the Israeli military.
To address these concerns, the fund has stated that all Israeli investments formerly handled by external managers will now be managed internally.
The investment strategy regarding Israeli companies will now be more selective, focusing only on those listed in the equity benchmark index.
As of the end of 2024, the fund’s stakes in Israeli firms were valued at $1.95bn, with investments in 65 companies.
In the past year, the fund has divested from an Israeli energy company and a telecommunications group on ethical grounds.
Moreover, an ethics council is currently evaluating whether the fund should divest from five banks.
Despite Norway’s parliament rejecting a motion to divest from all companies operating in the occupied Palestinian territories, the fund has, to date, excluded 11 companies on the advice of the Council on Ethics.
These exclusions were due to the potential risk of contributing to severe norm violations in the West Bank.
“Norway’s Wealth Fund to reduce Israeli holdings amid regional tensions ” was originally created and published by Private Banker International, a GlobalData owned brand.
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