August 12, 2025 | 05:15 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Norway's Wealth Fund has sold its shares in 11 Israeli companies, following reports that it had invested in an Israeli jet engine manufacturer while the war in Gaza continued.
According to Al Arabiya, Nicolai Tangen, head of Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM), which manages the fund, said the decision was made due to extraordinary circumstances.
"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," Tangen said in a statement.
He noted that the move would reduce the number of Israeli companies monitored by the fund's Ethics Council.
Norway's wealth fund, often referred to as the oil fund because of revenue from the country's energy exports, is the world's largest, valued at about US$1.9 trillion. It has holdings in more than 8,600 companies worldwide.
Last week, Norwegian newspaper Aftenposten reported that the fund had invested in Bet Shemesh Engines Holdings Israel, which produces parts for engines used in Israeli fighter jets. Tangen later confirmed the report, adding that investments in Israel had increased after the Gaza war began.
The revelation prompted Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store to instruct Finance Minister and former NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg to investigate.
At the end of the last semester, the fund had investments in 61 Israeli companies, 11 of which were not part of the equity benchmark index set by the Ministry of Finance to measure performance.
NBIM decided last week to sell all investments in Israeli companies outside the benchmark index as quickly as possible. Going forward, it will limit investments to companies included in the index.
The fund also announced it would move all investments in Israeli companies managed externally to in-house management and terminate contracts with external managers in Israel.
In addition, the Ministry of Finance has asked NBIM to review its investments in Israeli companies, with findings expected before August 20, 2025.
Speaking at a press conference on Monday evening, Stoltenberg welcomed the swift action by Norges Bank.
"The fund's ethical guidelines state that it must not invest in companies contributing to international law violations by countries," he told reporters.
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