Bank removes 17 firms from its portfolio of 61 Israeli firms as of the end of last month, following decision to sell investments in Israel due to 'serious humanitarian crisis' in Gaza
The world's largest wealth management fund, Norges Bank Investment Management, continued to remove Israeli firms from its portfolio on Tuesday.
On Monday, the $2.2-trillion fund announced that it excluded 11 Israeli firms from its portfolio of 61 Israeli firms as of June 30.
The fund's statement to Anadolu on Tuesday showed that there are only 44 Israeli firms in the fund's portfolio, as the fund said: "Eleven of the divestments are related to the decision made last week. The remainder (of six firms) are regular investment decisions made by our portfolio managers."
On Monday, CEO of the fund Nicolai Tangen said: “These measures were taken in response to extraordinary circumstances. The situation in Gaza is a serious humanitarian crisis.
"We are invested in companies that operate in a country at war, and conditions in the West Bank and Gaza have recently worsened. In response, we will further strengthen our due diligence."
Tangen also said the measures the fund is taking will simplify the management of its investments in this market and reduce the number of companies that the fund and the Council on Ethics monitor.
The fund also stated on Monday that it has been in dialogue with many firms operating in war and conflict zones, noting: "Since 2020, we have been in contact with more than 60 companies to raise this issue. Of these, 39 dialogues were related to the West Bank and Gaza."
"In the autumn of 2024, we further intensified the monitoring of our investments in Israeli companies. As a result, we have sold our investments in several Israeli companies," it added.
- Fund terminates $143.3M investments in Israel
As of the end of June, the fund's Israeli portfolio was worth $2.24 billion, with 61 companies.
The firm has removed a total of 17 Israeli companies from its portfolio as of Tuesday, which had a total value of $143.3 million.
The firms removed from the portfolio include Amos Luzon, Azorim, Bet Shemesh, Delek Automotive, El Israel Airlines, Energix, Etoro Group, Max Stock, Meshulam Levinstein, Perion Network, Priortech, Rami Levy Chain Stores, Reit, Retailors, Scope Metals, Sella Capital, and Turpaz Industries.
As of Tuesday, the amount of the fund's Israeli portfolio was $2.09 billion.
The bank also said on Monday that all investments in Israeli companies that are not in the equity benchmark index will be sold as soon as possible.
"All investments in Israeli companies that have been managed by external managers will be moved inhouse and managed internally. We are terminating contracts with external managers in Israel," it added.
On Tuesday, Tangen said in a press conference that the fund is planning to withdraw from more companies in Israel.
