Norway’s Central Bank Adds 3 Firms to Government Pension Fund Global’s Exclusion List

Norway’s central bank, which manages the country’s Government Pension Fund Global, has added Adani Ports & Special Economic Zone Ltd., Weichai Power Co. Ltd. and L3Harris Technologies Inc. to the list of firms the $1.65 trillion sovereign wealth fund is prohibited from investing in.

Norges Bank’s executive board said it is excluding Adani Ports & Special Economic Zone over the “unacceptable risk that the company contributes to serious violations of individuals’ rights in situations of war or conflict.” The company had been under observation since March 2022 due to its business association with Myanmar’s military.

According to Norges Bank, the Indian logistics company, which is part of the Adani Group of companies, disclosed in May 2023 that it had sold its port-related operations in Myanmar to a company named Solar Energy Ltd. However, Norges said that there is no available information on the buyer, and that APSEZ declined to share any information on the buyer on the grounds of confidentiality.

“Lack of information means that the Council cannot establish whether APSEZ has links to the enterprise concerned,” Norges Bank’s Council on Ethics said in its recommendation to exclude the firm. “In a situation in which extremely serious norm violations are taking place, this constitutes an unacceptable risk that the GPFG’s investments in APSEZ may breach its ethical guidelines.”

Norges Bank said that as of the end of 2022, the GPFG owned 0.3% of APSEZ’s shares, worth approximately $63.4 million.

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The executive board said its reason for excluding Weichai Power, a Chinese company that manufactures engines for heavy vehicles, was due to “an unacceptable risk” that the company is contributing to the sale of military materiel to Russia and Belarus.

The bank said the decision was prompted by Weichai’s participation in joint ventures with companies that sell military vehicles to the authorities in Russia and Belarus. It also said the company did not reply to its requests for additional information. As of the end of 2022, the GPFG owned 0.46% of the company’s shares, worth NOK 553 million ($52.8 million).

L3Harris was added to the exclusion list as a result of its 2023 acquisition of Aerojet Rocketdyne Holdings, which has been on the pension giant’s exclusion list since 2007. It was excluded on the grounds that it produces motors for Minuteman and Trident missiles, which are nuclear weapon delivery systems.

“According the ethical guidelines, the Council shall recommend that companies which develop or produce nuclear weapons or key components for nuclear weapons be excluded from investment by the GPFG,” The Council on Ethics said in its recommendation. “The Council has previously taken the position that missiles and motors for missiles whose only function is to carry nuclear warheads must be considered key components of nuclear weapons.”