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Malay Mail
12-08-2025
- Business
- Malay Mail
Norway's US$2t wealth fund expects to sell more Israeli stocks over Gaza, West Bank conflict
ARENDAL (Norway), Aug 12 — Norway's US$2 trillion (RM8.5 trillion) sovereign wealth fund, the world's largest, said on Tuesday it expects to divest from more Israeli companies as part of its ongoing review of investments in the country over the situation in Gaza and the West Bank. The fund announced on Monday it was terminating contracts with external asset managers handling some of its Israeli investments and has divested parts of its portfolio in the country over the worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza. The review began last week following media reports that the fund had built a stake of just over 2 per cent in an Israeli jet engine group that provides services to Israel's armed forces, including the maintenance of fighter jets. The stake in the company, Bet Shemesh Engines Ltd (BSEL), has now been sold, the fund announced on Tuesday. Bet Shemesh did not respond to requests for comment. Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM), 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 firms, including BSEL. It did not name the other companies. 'We expect to divest from more companies, NBIM CEO Nicolai Tangen told a press conference on Tuesday. The fund began investing in BSEL in November 2023, about one month after the war in Gaza began, via an external investment manager, Tangen said. The fund declined to name the external portfolio manager. Since then, NBIM has held quarterly meetings with Bet Shemesh Holdings, but the war in Gaza was not raised as a theme. 'We had discussions about their business in the United States, not about the war in Gaza,' Tangen said, adding that the fund had rated BSEL as a 'medium risk' stock with regards to ethics concerns. BSEL was later reviewed as a high-risk stock in May. That change should have been quicker, Tangen said, adding that NBIM should have had a tighter overview of these investments earlier. 'We should have been quicker in taking back control of the Israeli investments,' he said. Six-month profit 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 per cent of all listed stocks worldwide. It also invests in bonds, real estate and renewable energy projects. On Tuesday, it posted a 698 billion Norwegian crowns profit for the first half of the year,earning an overall return of 5.7 per cent in line with its benchmark index. 'The result is driven by good returns in the stock market, particularly in the financial sector,' Tangen said in a statement. — Reuters
Reuters
12-08-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Norway sovereign fund expects to sell more Israeli stocks over Gaza, West Bank
ARENDAL, Norway, Aug 12 (Reuters) - Norway's $2 trillion sovereign wealth fund, the world's largest, said on Tuesday it expects to divest from more Israeli companies as part of its ongoing review of investments in the country over the situation in Gaza and the West Bank. The fund announced on Monday it was terminating contracts with external asset managers handling some of its Israeli investments and has divested parts of its portfolio in the country over the worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza. The review began last week following media reports that the fund had built a stake of just over 2% in an Israeli jet engine group that provides services to Israel's armed forces, including the maintenance of fighter jets. The stake in the company, Bet Shemesh Engines Ltd (BSEL) ( opens new tab, has now been sold, the fund announced on Tuesday. Bet Shemesh did not respond to requests for comment. Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM), 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 firms, including BSEL. It did not name the other companies. "We expect to divest from more companies, NBIM CEO Nicolai Tangen told a press conference on Tuesday. The fund began investing in BSEL in November 2023, about one month after the war in Gaza began, via an external investment manager, Tangen said. The fund declined to name the external portfolio manager. Since then, NBIM has held quarterly meetings with Bet Shemesh Holdings, but the war in Gaza was not raised as a theme. "We had discussions about their business in the United States, not about the war in Gaza," Tangen said, adding that the fund had rated BSEL as a "medium risk" stock with regards to ethics concerns. BSEL was later reviewed as a high-risk stock in May. That change should have been quicker, Tangen said, adding that NBIM should have had a tighter overview of these investments earlier. "We should have been quicker in taking back control of the Israeli investments," he said. 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. On Tuesday, it posted a 698 billion Norwegian crowns ($68.28 billion) profit for the first half of the year, earning an overall return of 5.7% in line with its benchmark index. "The result is driven by good returns in the stock market, particularly in the financial sector," Tangen said in a statement. ($1 = 10.2223 Norwegian crowns)
Al Jazeera
11-08-2025
- Business
- Al Jazeera
Norway wealth fund divests from several Israeli companies due to Gaza war
Norway's $2 trillion sovereign wealth fund says it is terminating all contracts with asset managers handling its Israeli investments and has divested parts of its portfolio. The announcement on Monday came after an urgent review launched last week after media reports said the fund had built a stake in an Israeli jet engine group that provides services to Israel's military, including the maintenance of fighter jets, as Israel's genocidal war on Gaza and the Palestinian population rages. The fund, an arm of Norway's central bank and the world's largest, held stakes in 61 Israeli companies as of June 30 but 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 is continuing to review Israeli companies for potential divestments. 'These measures were taken in response to extraordinary circumstances. The situation in Gaza is a serious humanitarian crisis,' Nicolai Tangen, the CEO of Norges Bank Investment Management, said in a statement. 'We are invested in companies that operate in a country at war, and conditions in the West Bank and Gaza have recently worsened. In response, we will further strengthen our due diligence.' The fund stated that it has 'long paid particular attention to companies associated with war and conflict'. 'We constantly monitor companies' risk management related to conflict zones and respect for human rights,' it said. The Norwegian government began its review after Aftenposten, the country's leading newspaper, revealed that the fund had a stake in Bet Shemesh Engines Ltd (BSEL), which provides parts to Israeli fighter jets that are being deployed in the war on Gaza. Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store had said at the time that the investment was 'worrying'. The sovereign fund, which owns stakes in 8,700 companies worldwide, has sold its stakes in an Israeli energy company and a telecommunications group in the past year. In June, Norway's largest pension fund also decided to sever its ties with companies doing business with Israel. That same month, however, Norway's parliament rejected a proposal for the fund to divest from all companies with activities in occupied Palestinian territory. Several of Europe's biggest financial firms have cut back their links to Israeli companies or those with ties to the country, according to an analysis of filings by the Reuters news agency, as pressure mounts from activists and governments to end the war in Gaza. Last month, Francesca Albanese, the United Nations special rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territory, called on countries to cut off all trade and financial ties with Israel, including a full arms embargo, and withdraw international support for what she termed an 'economy of genocide'. In a report titled From Economy of Occupation to Economy of Genocide, Albanese detailed 'the corporate machinery sustaining Israel's settler-colonial project of displacement and replacement of the Palestinians in the occupied territory'. The report singled out companies – including arms manufacturers, technology giants, heavy machinery companies and financial institutions – for their 'complicity' in Israel's repression of Palestinians from sustaining Israeli expansions onto occupied land to enabling the surveillance and killings of Palestinians.
