Norway's wealth fund watchdog clears most companies in Gaza review

OSLO - The watchdog of Norway's $1.8 trillion sovereign wealth fund said on Monday that most companies it reviewed over their activities in the occupied Palestinian territories met the fund's ethical guidelines.

It said a second company could face divestment, however, after the fund pulled out of Israeli telecoms firm Bezeq in December under a new, tougher interpretation of its ethics standards.

The fund, which owns 1.5% of listed shares across 9,000 companies globally, operates under guidelines set by Norway's parliament and is seen as a leader in the environmental, social and governance (ESG) field.

With the onset of the war in Gaza in October 2023, its watchdog, the Council on Ethics, launched the review to check for possible breaches by businesses aiding Israel's operations in the occupied Palestinian territories.

"The Council has concluded that the majority of companies reviewed do not meet the threshold for exclusion," it said in its annual report, noting that the threshold to exclude is "high by intention".

In addition to Bezeq, the council said it had so far sent a second recommendation for exclusion to the board of the central bank.

"They are companies involved with business operations within critical infrastructure," it said.

It did not name the second company. The board often follows the watchdog's recommendation, but not always.

Overall, the watchdog assessed around 65 companies in the fund's portfolio working in sectors including energy supply, infrastructure construction, travel and tourism and banking among others.

Some companies had ceased operations in the West Bank, while two companies had voiced their intention to do so, the council said.

The fund focuses on the present and future risk of ethical guideline breaches, rather than looking at past actions, it said.

An additional "important factor in the Council's assessment is whether the activities of a given company are a prerequisite for the international law violation to occur," it said.

The watchdog said it contacted two weapons manufacturers - one German and one from the U.S. - during the review.

"Neither company had any ongoing deliveries of relevant weapon types to Israel," it said.

The council said that, having completed its review of companies operating in Gaza, this year it would continue its work looking into firms operating in the West Bank.

(Reporting by Gwladys Fouche in Oslo; Editing by Joe Bavier)