Norway Excludes Nuclear Arms Component Makers From Oil Fund
Source: Bloomberg
Norway’s sovereign-wealth fund excluded U.S.-based engineering companies Babcock & Wilcox Co. (BWC) and Jacobs Engineering Group Inc (JEC) from its investment portfolio because of their production of nuclear arms components.
The $700 billion Government Pension Fund Global has sold its shares in both companies, the Finance Ministry said in an e- mailed statement today. The ministry, which sets the fund’s investment guidelines, also ended its exclusion of BAE Systems Plc (BA/), Finmeccanica SpA (FNC) and FMC Corp. (FMC) Siemens AG (SIE) was removed from an observation list after making progress on anti-corruption efforts, the ministry said.
“During the observation period, Siemens had demonstrated both a willingness and an ability to transform the company’s culture,” the Oslo-based ministry said in a statement.
The world’s largest wealth fund takes into account ethical rules encompassing human rights, some weapons production, the environment and tobacco when deciding on its investments. It has excluded about 50 companies, including Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and British American Tobacco Plc (BATS), following recommendations from the ministry’s Ethics Council. The exclusions are announced after the shares are sold.
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