World's largest Norwegian sovereign wealth fund can invest in nuclear weapons manufacturer

A recommendation has been made that Norway's sovereign wealth fund, which boasts the world's largest fund, should be free of the shackles of banning investment in nuclear weapons manufacturing companies.

According to Reuters, a committee appointed by the Norwegian government issued a recommendation on the 15th (local time) that the Norwegian sovereign wealth fund should be allowed to invest in major Western defense companies that are currently excluded from investment due to their involvement in the production of nuclear weapons.

Norway's sovereign wealth fund, which manages $2.3 trillion (approximately 3100 trillion won) in funds and invests in approximately 7,000 companies around the world, cannot hold shares in 14 companies that develop or manufacture nuclear weapons or their components in accordance with current ethical guidelines.

The new ethics regulations released by the committee on this day allow for exceptions for companies headquartered in countries recognized as nuclear weapons states under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and in countries allied with Norway, a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

In its proposal, the committee stated that "several companies in Europe, including the UK and France, and the US that produce nuclear weapon parts could be included again in the investment target." However, the committee recommended that the ethical investment exclusion criteria applied to biological weapons, landmines, cluster bomb manufacturing, coal mining, and tobacco and cannabis production be maintained.

The Norwegian government plans to submit a plan containing these recommendations regarding the sovereign wealth fund's investment ethics system to parliament next spring.

If the recommendation is approved by parliament, Norway's sovereign wealth fund will be able to invest in Western defense companies such as Airbus, Boeing, BAE Systems, Lockheed Martin, and Saffron.

Norwegian Finance Minister Jens Stoltenberg, who requested a review of Norway's sovereign wealth fund's ethics rules, said the recommendation reflects the reality that the security environment is rapidly changing due to geopolitical tensions and NATO's nuclear deterrent is becoming increasingly important.

“The current ban prevents us from doing business with certain types of companies, but these companies play an important role in Norway’s security,” the former NATO secretary-general said.

Meanwhile, civic groups, including the Norwegian Red Cross, criticized this recommendation, saying it would result in justifying investment in weapons of mass destruction.