Norway's Central Bank Excludes Adani Port From Pension Fund Citing Ethical Concerns (Photo on X Adani Ports and SEZ Ltd @Adaniports)
Norway”s Central Bank, Norges Bank said that its executive body has decided to exclude three companies including India”s Adani Ports Special Economic Zone (APSEZ), from its government pension fund. The company is owned by billionaire Gautam Adani. The other two companies included United States-based L3Harris Technologies, and China”s Weichai Power.
Sharing the news regarding the exclusion of Adani Ports from the government pension fund in Norway, advocate Prashant Bhushan sarcastically asked, “What?! Hasn’t Modi given his guarantee for all Adani companies?,” in a post on X (formerly Twitter). He was referring to the alleged link of the Prime Minister Modi with the Indian Businessman.
Norway excludes Adani Ports from govt pension fund over ethical concerns.
What?! Hasn’t Modi given his guarantee for all Adani companies? https://t.co/vjrbVttraM— Prashant Bhushan (@pbhushan1) May 16, 2024
The bank cited ethical concerns for its decision. The bank”s decision came based on the recommendation from the Council on Ethics of November 21, 2023, Routers reports.
The Government Pension Fund Global was introduced to manage Norway”s oil wealth, giving financial strength and long-term savings for future generations. The legislation to establish the fund was passed in 1990, with the first deposit being made in 1996. It was created to responsibly manage the oil revenues, avoiding fiscal imbalance.
Referring to the billionaire Gautam Adani”s Adani Ports, the bank said that it was excluded because of the company”s dubious contribution to “serious violations of individuals” rights in situations of war or conflict. The company has been under monitoring since 2022, and the investigation now ends with its decision to exclude the company, the bank said. The company has been on the blacklist since March 2022.
Adani Port is India”s largest private port operator and an end-to-end logistic provider. It has a total of 13 ports and terminals, accounting for 24 percentage of the country”s total ports.
The decision against the transport equipment manufacturer Weichai Power was taken amid fears that its operations could support the sale of weapons to countries involved in the war, constituting a violation of international rules. Notably, the US-based L3Harris was excluded from the fund due to its engagement in the development of components for nuclear weapons.
