Latest news with #Arendal
Zawya
12-08-2025
- Business
- Zawya
Norway wealth fund terminates Israel asset management contracts
ARENDAL, Norway: Norway's $2 trillion sovereign wealth fund said on Monday it is terminating contracts with asset managers handling its Israeli investments and has divested parts of its portfolio in the country over the situation in Gaza and the West Bank. The announcement follows an urgent review launched last week following media reports that the fund had built a stake in an Israeli jet engine group that provides services to Israel's armed forces, including the maintenance of fighter jets. "All investments in Israeli companies that have been managed by external managers will be moved in-house and managed internally," the fund said. The fund, an arm of Norway's central bank, which held stakes in 61 Israeli companies as of June 30, in recent days divested stakes in 11 of these, it said in a statement, without naming the groups. "We have now completely sold out of these positions," the fund said, adding that it continued to review Israeli companies for potential divestments. The review will also lead to improved due diligence, it added. "The fund's investments in Israel will now be limited to companies that are in the equity benchmark index. However, we will not be invested in all Israeli companies in the index," it said. The fund, which owns stakes in 8,700 companies worldwide, held shares in 65 Israeli companies at the end of 2024, valued at $1.95 billion, its records show. In the last year it sold its stakes in an Israeli energy company and a telecoms group over ethics concerns, and its ethics watchdog has said it is reviewing whether to divest holdings in five banks. Norway's parliament in June rejected a proposal for the fund to divest from all companies with activities in the occupied Palestinian territories. (Reporting by Gwladys Fouché in Arendal, editing by Terje Solsvik and Toby Chopra)
Zawya
12-08-2025
- Business
- Zawya
Norway wealth fund posts $68bln profit for January-June, lifted by finance stocks
ARENDAL, Norway - Norway's $2 trillion sovereign wealth fund, the world's largest, posted a 698 billion Norwegian crowns ($68.28 billion) profit for the first half of the year, lifted by strong returns among stocks in the financial industry, it said on Tuesday. The fund's overall return for the January-June period was 5.7%, which was 0.05 percentage point lower than the return on the fund's benchmark index. "The result is driven by good returns in the stock market, particularly in the financial sector," fund CEO Nicolai Tangen said in a statement. The fund, which invests the Norwegian state's revenues from oil and gas production, is one of the world's largest investors, owning on average 1.5% of all listed stocks worldwide. It also invests in bonds, real estate and renewable energy projects. The return on equity investments was 6.7% percent in the first half, while fixed-income returned 3.3%, unlisted real estate 4.0% and unlisted renewable energy infrastructure 9.4%, Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM) said in its statement. NBIM announced on Monday it was terminating contracts with external asset managers handling its Israeli investments and has divested parts of its portfolio in the country over the situation in Gaza and the West Bank. It is expected to provide more detail on its partial Israeli divestment on Tuesday. The fund is due to holds a press conference at 0800 CET (0600 GMT). ($1 = 10.2223 Norwegian crowns)
Reuters
11-08-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Norway wealth fund terminates Israel asset management contracts
ARENDAL, Norway, Aug 11 (Reuters) - Norway's $2 trillion sovereign wealth fund said on Monday it is terminating all contracts with asset managers handling its Israeli investments and has divested parts of its portfolio in the country over the situation in Gaza and the West Bank. The announcement follows an urgent review launched last week following media reports that the fund had built a stake in an Israeli jet engine group that provides services to Israel's armed forces, including the maintenance of fighter jets. The fund, an arm of Norway's central bank, which held stakes in 61 Israeli companies as of June 30, in recent days divested stakes in 11 of these, it said in a statement. "We have now completely sold out of these positions," the fund said, adding that it continued to review Israeli companies for potential divestments. Norway's parliament in June rejected a proposal for the fund to divest from all companies with activities in the occupied Palestinian territories.
