The Norwegian sovereign wealth fund has announced its decision to disinvest from six more Israeli stocks due to their activities in the territories over the green line. As of June 2025, the fund held stakes in 61 Israeli companies. Last week the fund announced that it had sold holdings in 17 companies due to various economic criteria, and now it is reporting that it has sold its holdings in six additional companies. Norwegian financial newspaper "E24," reports that the fund now holds shares in only 38 Israeli companies, and the amount of the investments has been reduced by at least $400 million.
The wealth fund, which manages about $2 trillion worldwide and before the disinvestment managed about $2 billion in investments in Israel, did not disclose the names of the six companies from which it is currently in the process of disinvesting. It announced that it will do so as soon as the sale process is completed. In the past year, the fund also sold its holdings in Bezeq and Paz due to their activities in the territories. Decisions on disinvestment due to alleged violations of international law are made by the fund's ethics committee, which reviewed its Israel investments following a request from the government earlier this month.
Not selling all its Israeli holdings
The Norwegian sovereign wealth fund's CEO Nicolai Tangen said last week that the fund, "Plans ending its investments in additional Israeli companies," as has been announced today. However, the fund announced that it is not selling all its investments in Israel. During the restructuring of investments announced last week, the fund announced that it was also terminating its relationship with the financial institutions that manage its investments in Israel, and that it would manage them independently.
Tangen was responding to the public uproar in Norway in recent weeks, when a group of Palestinian activists protested that the fund held shares in Beit Shemesh Engines, which it alleged has links to the Israeli Air Force. The government said that the companies in the wealth fund’s portfolio should be "seriously reviewed," and the fund pledged to do so by August 20. Tangen took "personal" responsibility for not examining the investments sooner and continued to rely, he said, on the Israeli financial institutions that managed the investments.
The issue has become politically charged, with more than 65% of Norwegians supporting the complete sale of all of the fund's investments in Israel, according to surveys. Norway goes to the polls next month, with its center-left government struggling to hold on to power. The left-wing opposition in Norway, as well as public opinion, has turned sharply against Israel since the Hamas terror attacks of October 7 and the war in Gaza.
The fund's statement quoted in Norwegian media said, "(Israel’s) violations have become more serious since October 7, 2023, and they have become even more serious in 2025. The ethics committee has therefore tightened its requirements for companies involved in the (Israeli-Palestinian) conflict. Accordingly, the fund recommended in July to divest investments from six additional Israeli companies that are considered to be contributing to Israel’s violation of international law."
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on August 18, 2025.
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