Latest news with #Israeli companies
Zawya
10 hours ago
- Business
- Zawya
Norway wealth fund excludes six Israeli companies linked to West Bank, Gaza
OSLO/COPENHAGEN: Norway's sovereign wealth fund, the world's largest, will exclude another six Israeli companies with connections to the West Bank and Gaza from its portfolio following an ethics review, it said on Monday. The $2 trillion wealth fund did not name the companies it had decided to exclude but said they would be made public, along with specific reasons, once the divestments were completed. One possibility is they include Israel's five largest banks, which have been under review by the fund's ethical watchdog. Separately, the fund said it had also sold stakes in six other companies following a decision last week to only hold stakes in Israeli companies that are part of the fund's benchmark index. As of August 14, the fund had 19 billion crowns ($1.86 billion) invested in 38 companies listed in Israel, the fund's operator Norges Bank Investment Management said, a reduction of 23 companies since June 30. "More companies could be excluded," Norwegian Finance Minister Jens Stoltenberg told reporters. ETHICS REVIEW The fund launched an urgent review earlier this month after reports that it 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 reports spurred a fresh debate about the fund's investments in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories ahead of elections on Sept. 8, with some parties calling for the fund to divest from all Israeli companies, a step the government has ruled out. Norway's parliament in June rejected a proposal for the fund to divest from all companies with activities in the occupied Palestinian territories. "This debate helps sharpen our practices," said Stoltenberg. Critics say only a complete withdrawal from investing in Israeli companies would protect the fund against possible ethical breaches. Stoltenberg said that, from now on, the ethics watchdog and NBIM would have more frequent and faster exchanges of information to more rapidly identify problematic companies. Ethical exclusions from the fund are based on recommendations from the fund's watchdog, though NBIM can also divest from companies if it assesses that a company poses too much of a risk to the fund, whether the risk is ethical or not. "With more exchanges of information between the Council on Ethics and Norges Bank, it is possible that there could be more divestments of that kind in future," said Stoltenberg. Last Monday, the fund announced it was terminating contracts with all three external asset managers who handled some of its Israeli investments. ($1 = 10.1890 Norwegian crowns) (Reporting by Gwladys Fouche in Oslo and Louise Breusch Rasmussen in Copenhagen, editing by Terje Solsvik, William Maclean and Christina Fincher)
Reuters
a day ago
- Business
- Reuters
Norway wealth fund excludes six Israeli companies linked to West Bank, Gaza
OSLO/COPENHAGEN, Aug 18 (Reuters) - Norway's sovereign wealth fund, the world's largest, will exclude another six Israeli companies with connections to the West Bank and Gaza from its portfolio following an ethics review, it said on Monday. The $2 trillion wealth fund did not name the companies it had decided to exclude but said they would be made public, along with specific reasons, once the divestments were completed. One possibility is they include Israel's five largest banks, which have been under review by the fund's ethical watchdog. Separately, the fund said it had also sold stakes in six other companies following a decision last week to only hold stakes in Israeli companies that are part of the fund's benchmark index. As of August 14, the fund had 19 billion crowns ($1.86 billion) invested in 38 companies listed in Israel, the fund's operator Norges Bank Investment Management said, a reduction of 23 companies since June 30. "More companies could be excluded," Norwegian Finance Minister Jens Stoltenberg told reporters. The fund launched an urgent review earlier this month after reports that it 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 reports spurred a fresh debate about the fund's investments in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories ahead of elections on Sept. 8, with some parties calling for the fund to divest from all Israeli companies, a step the government has ruled out. Norway's parliament in June rejected a proposal for the fund to divest from all companies with activities in the occupied Palestinian territories. "This debate helps sharpen our practices," said Stoltenberg. Critics say only a complete withdrawal from investing in Israeli companies would protect the fund against possible ethical breaches. Stoltenberg said that, from now on, the ethics watchdog and NBIM would have more frequent and faster exchanges of information to more rapidly identify problematic companies. Ethical exclusions from the fund are based on recommendations from the fund's watchdog, though NBIM can also divest from companies if it assesses that a company poses too much of a risk to the fund, whether the risk is ethical or not. "With more exchanges of information between the Council on Ethics and Norges Bank, it is possible that there could be more divestments of that kind in future," said Stoltenberg. Last Monday, the fund announced it was terminating contracts with all three external asset managers who handled some of its Israeli investments. ($1 = 10.1890 Norwegian crowns)
Zawya
a day ago
- Business
- Zawya
Norway wealth fund excludes six companies linked to West Bank, Gaza
Norway's sovereign wealth fund, the world's largest, said on Monday it had decided to exclude six companies with connections to the West Bank and Gaza from its portfolio, following an ethics review of its Israeli investments. The $2 trillion wealth fund did not name the companies it had decided to exclude, but said these would be made public, along with specific reasons for each company, once the divestment was completed. The announcement follows an urgent review launched this month after 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's ethics council watchdog said it would continue to assess Israeli companies every quarter. Exclusions from the fund are based on recommendations from the fund's ethics watchdog. The fund had also separately sold stakes in several other companies that were not part of the ethics review, it said, following a decision last week to only hold stakes in Israeli companies that are part of the fund's benchmark index. As of August 14, the fund had 19 billion crowns ($1.86 billion) invested in 38 companies listed in Israel, it said, noting this was a reduction of 23 companies since June 30. The number of companies will decline further once the six ethics-based divestments are made, it said. The fund announced last Monday that it was terminating contracts with all three of its external asset managers who handled some of its Israeli investments. Norway's parliament in June rejected a proposal for the fund to divest from all companies with activities in the occupied Palestinian territories. ($1 = 10.1932 Norwegian crowns) (Reporting by Louise Breusch Rasmussen, editing by Terje Solsvik)
Yahoo
12-08-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Norway's Wealth Fund to reduce Israeli holdings amid regional tensions
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. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site.
Free Malaysia Today
12-08-2025
- Business
- Free Malaysia Today
Norway's wealth fund terminates Israel asset management contracts
The fund, an arm of Norway's central bank, has sold stakes in 11 of 61 Israeli companies it held as of June 30. (Reuters pic) ARENDAL : Norway's US$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.
