Overview
- The fund has sold its stakes in 11 Israeli companies, including its holding in Bet Shemesh Engines, and terminated contracts with external managers, moving all Israeli mandates in-house.
- It will restrict future investments to firms listed in Norway’s finance ministry equity benchmark index, though it will not hold every index component.
- The fund held equity in 61 Israeli companies worth around $2 billion as of June and its ethics council is now reviewing additional holdings, including stakes in five banks.
- The move follows an urgent review ordered by Finance Minister Jens Stoltenberg after media exposed the Bet Shemesh stake and comes after parliament in June rejected a proposal for blanket divestment from occupied territories.
- CEO Nicolai Tangen described the actions as responses to “extraordinary circumstances” driven by a serious humanitarian crisis in Gaza and the West Bank, reflecting a broader European trend of reducing ties to Israeli firms.