The view shows the building of the Norwegian Central Bank (Norges Bank) in Oslo. | Photo source: REUTERS
The Norwegian central bank said on May 15 that its board had decided to exclude three companies from the government pension fund for ethical reasons.
Norges Bank, which manages the sovereign wealth fund, said in a statement that it had decided to exclude India’s Adani ports and Special Economic Zone, L3Harris Technologies and China’s Weichai Power.
Norges said it decided to exclude Adani Ports due to the “unacceptable risk that the company will contribute to sedate violations of individual rights in situations of war or conflict.”
The company, part of billionaire Gautam Adani’s conglomerate, has been on the central banks’ watch list since March 2022 for possible exclusion from investment.
Transportation equipment maker Weichai Power was also excluded from the fund amid concerns that the Chinese company was contributing to arms sales to countries involved in armed conflicts where “weapons are used in a manner that violates international rules,” the bank said.
The bank said that US defense contractor L3Harris was also excluded from the fund due to its development and production of nuclear weapons components.
Adani Ports, Weichai Power and L3Harris did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment on the exemptions.
The announcement did not mention the fund’s shares in three companies.
