Norway’s sovereign wealth fund could invest in nuclear weapons manufacturers / Government commission proposes changing the rules

Norway’s sovereign wealth fund, valued at more than €2 trillion, could once again invest in companies involved in the production of nuclear weapons, according to a proposal presented Thursday by a government-appointed commission. Changing the ethical rules would allow major Western arms manufacturers to be included in the portfolio again, amid nuclear threats issued by Russia and the expansion of China’s arsenal.

Currently, 14 companies are excluded from the fund’s investments because of their involvement in developing or producing nuclear weapons or their components. They include Airbus, BAE Systems, Boeing, Lockheed Martin and Safran.

The commission led by former central bank governor Svein Gjedrem recommends an exception for manufacturers from states recognized as nuclear-weapon states under the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, provided they are also Norway’s allies in NATO. “Several British, French and American arms manufacturers will be included in the fund’s portfolio again,” Gjedrem said.

Finance Minister Jens Stoltenberg noted that the fund cannot invest in companies considered essential to Norway’s security. The other ethical criteria, concerning chemical and biological weapons, anti-personnel mines, cluster munitions, coal, tobacco and cannabis, would remain in place.

The recommendations will be subject to public consultation until January 15, and the government will present its own assessment to Parliament in the spring of next year. The fund invests in more than 7,000 companies and owns approximately 1.5% of listed shares worldwide.