– Norway’s sovereign wealth fund on Thursday said its executive board had decided to exclude from its portfolio two firms and a subsidiary that it said held “unacceptable risk” of human rights’ violations.
Israeli security and analytics software provider Cognyte Software Ltd was excluded “due to unacceptable risk that the company contributes to serious human rights violations,” it said, while Thai national energy company PTT and its unit PTT Oil and Retail Business had been excluded “due to unacceptable risk that the companies contribute to serious violations of individuals’ rights in situations of war or conflict.”
The statement from Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM), the fund’s operator, did not elaborate on the reasoning other than to say that the decisions were based on ethics council recommendations from May and June this year. It did not mention the fund’s stake in these companies.
PTT and Cognyte did not respond to Reuters requests for comment. NBIM did not respond to a request for further comment on the suspension.
The fund added that it will remove Italian company Leonardo SpA from “observation,” as the reason it was placed under the criteria was “no longer grounds for observation.”
Leonardo did not respond to a request for comment.