Government Pension Fund Global, Olso, is investing again in Walmart Inc. and four other companies previously excluded for ethical considerations, the fund said on its website Tuesday.
The 9.1 trillion Norwegian kroner ($1.07 trillion) sovereign wealth fund also agreed to start investing again in Grupo Carso SAB de CV, General Dynamics Corp., Nutrien Ltd. and Rio Tinto PLC and along with their subsidiaries.
The companies, which were excluded between 2005 and 2011 on the recommendation of the fund's ethics council, have since ended the actions that caused their banishment.
Walmart and its subsidiary, Wal-Mart de Mexico SAB de CV, were excluded in 2006 based on the ethics council's assessment of serious or systematic violations of human rights. Walmart's working conditions at its suppliers and partly within the company's own operations were unacceptable, the council concluded.
Grupo Carso was divested in 2011 due to tobacco production. General Dynamics was excluded in 2005 due to its production of cluster munitions. Nutrien was ditched in 2011 following a risk of violations of fundamental ethical norms related to the company's phosphate purchases in Western Sahara.
Rio Tinto Ltd. and Rio Tinto PLC were excluded in 2008 based on an assessment of the risk of severe environmental damage related to the Grasberg mine in Indonesia. The company has since sold its interest in the mine.
