“These measures were taken in response to extraordinary circumstances. The situation in Gaza constitutes a severe humanitarian crisis. We invest in companies operating in a country at war, and conditions in the West Bank and Gaza have recently deteriorated,” stated CEO Nicolai Tangen, as noted in a statement.
On June 4, the Norwegian newspaper Aftenposten disclosed that Norway’s sovereign wealth fund, which has global investments, had invested in the Israeli company Bet Shemesh Engines Holdings, a manufacturer of engine parts for Israeli fighter jets.
Tangen confirmed the following day that the fund had acquired a stake in the company in 2023, an investment that increased following the onset of the Israeli offensive in Gaza.
Norway’s prime minister responded promptly, requesting the finance minister to contact the country’s central bank, Norges Bank, which manages the fund. The Ministry of Finance asked the bank to “review the implementation of the fund’s management mandate and investments in Israeli companies, and to propose any new measures deemed necessary,” according to the bank.
By the end of the year’s first half, the fund held shares in 61 Israeli companies. Among these, 11 companies were not included in the Ministry’s benchmark index, which measures the economic performance of the sovereign fund.
Last week, a decision was made that “all investments in Israeli companies not included in the benchmark index will be sold as soon as possible,” stated Norges Bank Investment Management in a release.
The fund also mentioned that it “has long paid special attention to companies associated with wars and conflicts.”
“Since 2020, we have contacted over 60 companies to raise this issue. Of these, 39 dialogues involved the West Bank and Gaza,” it assured.
The monitoring of Israeli companies was intensified in the autumn of 2024, and “investments in various Israeli companies” were sold, declared the sovereign fund.
