Norway’s $2.3tn oil fund urged to relax nuclear weapons ban

{"text":[[{"start":8.04,"text":"Norway’s $2.3tn oil fund should be able to invest in major defence groups currently barred for their role in nuclear weapons production, according to a government-appointed committee, in a move that could lead to it taking stakes in companies such as Boeing and BAE Systems."}],[{"start":23.58,"text":"The world’s largest sovereign wealth fund’s ethical investing rules currently prevent it from taking stakes in companies such as Lockheed Martin and Airbus because they make parts for nuclear weapons."}],[{"start":34,"text":"But an expert group commissioned by the government to review the guidelines on Thursday recommended lifting the embargo for companies based in a nuclear state allied to Norway, potentially paving the way for 13 of the 14 excluded businesses to become part of the fund’s holdings."}],[{"start":49.16,"text":"These would include General Dynamics, Honeywell, and Northrop Grumman but India’s Larsen & Toubro would remain banned."}],[{"start":56.2,"text":"Norway’s finance minister — and former Nato secretary-general — Jens Stoltenberg told the FT last year that it was a “paradox” that the rich Scandinavian country was a member of Nato and enjoyed the benefits of its nuclear umbrella, but was unable to invest in some of the largest US, UK and French defence groups."}],[{"start":74.54,"text":"The proposal is likely to be controversial in Norway, where Stoltenberg’s government is dependent on leftwing parties in parliament to pass its budgets. At least three of those parties expressed displeasure at the move on nuclear weapons as well as other measures that they argued would weaken the oil fund’s ethical standards."}],[{"start":91.24,"text":"Stoltenberg ordered the review last year after the independent council on the study of ethics indicated it was about to look at barring companies such as Amazon, Microsoft and Alphabet because of their work for the Israeli government."}],[{"start":null,"text":"

"}],[{"start":103.48,"text":"Oda Indgaard, a Green party MP, said on Thursday: “This is absolutely insane . . . If these proposals are adopted by parliament, it would represent a major ethical collapse and a giant step backwards in the management of the oil fund.”"}],[{"start":116.92,"text":"Kirsti Bergstø, leader of the Socialist Left party, added that lifting the ban on nuclear weapons would be “completely the wrong direction in turbulent times, when the world needs more disarmament”."}],[{"start":127.32,"text":"The government will publish its response to the expert review in April, and its proposal will be debated and adopted by parliament next year."}],[{"start":135.94,"text":"The review, led by former central bank governor Svein Gjedrem, recommended that the council of ethics should no longer be able to recommend excluding a company from the oil fund, and should instead evaluate the risk of an ethical breach on a case-by-case basis."}],[{"start":151.28,"text":"The review said the fund had become so large, and so crucial to the country’s welfare state, that it was important to protect its ability to generate long-term returns. A quarter of Norway’s national budget comes from annual withdrawals from the fund."}],[{"start":166.48,"text":"Norway’s central bank — which is home to the manager of the oil fund — should take the decision whether to exclude a company or use other tools to deal with the problem, the committee said."}],[{"start":176.92,"text":"Gjedrem warned the government and fund that exclusions should be directed against companies, not states. The oil fund became mired in controversy last year when it was forced to sell half of its holdings in Israel and divest from US manufacturing group Caterpillar because of the war in Gaza."}],[{"start":193.92,"text":"Caterpillar’s exclusion led to strong criticism of the fund from US politicians close to President Donald Trump."}],[{"start":206.12,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1792069914_4547.mp3"}