Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM), which runs the world’s largest sovereign wealth fund (SWF), has further pared back its investments in Israel and pledged to tighten up its ethical oversight practices.
NBIM said it had divested stakes in six firms with links to West Bank and Gaza, based on recommendations from the Council on Ethics, noting that their identity and specific reasons would be made public once the holdings had been unwound.
Previously the fund had divested eleven other Israeli firms following its decision to only hold stakes in companies that are part of its benchmark index. NBIM still has holdings in 38 Israeli listed firms worth US$1.86 billion. Some bodies have called for a full divestment of all Israeli holdings by the fund, but this was rejected by Norway’s parliament in June.
NBIM said it had conducted a new review of Israeli firms in its equity portfolios to assess whether they had operations in occupied areas or had financed the development of settlements, contracts with Israeli defence. It will also explore new measures to strengthen coordination with the Council of Ethics, an independent body, appointed by Norway’s finance ministry.
Last week, NBIM also said it would bring management of its Israeli equity investments in-house, terminating its relationship with three external managers “to simplify the management of this portfolio”.
In its response to the finance ministry, the SWF said it had contacted more than 60 companies about due diligence and risk-reducing measures in war and conflict areas since 2020, and dialogue with more than 30 firms with operations connected to the West Bank and Gaza.
