Norges Bank Investment Management removed three companies from the portfolio of Government Pension Fund Global, Oslo, because of those firms' violations of human rights and international laws.
The executive board of Norges Bank, which manages the assets of the 11.08 trillion Norwegian kroner ($1.35 trillion) sovereign wealth fund, divested from two companies after the Council on Ethics, which recommends divestment decisions for Norges Bank, ruled that Israeli settlements in the West Bank were built in violation of international law.
The fund divested $11.9 million of equity investments in Mivne Real Estate, after the council concluded that buildings the firm leases in the West Bank contribute to the continuation of an illegal state.
The fund also divested $1.1 million in equity investments in Israel-based construction company Shapir Engineering and Industry over its involvement in the construction of homes in the West Bank.
Norges Bank also divested $2.2 million of equity investments in Japanese women's clothing retailer Honeys Holdings Co. due to breaches at its suppliers' factories in Myanmar. The violations included harassment of workers and breaches of labor laws concerning health and safety of workers.
