Norway Oil Fund Ends Observation of Kirin Holdings, Extends Pan Ocean Watch
March 23 2023 - 5:17AM
Dow Jones News
By Dominic Chopping
Norway's $1.3 trillion sovereign wealth fund said late Wednesday
that it has decided to end its observation of Japan's Kirin
Holdings Co Ltd. while it will extend its observation of South
Korea's Pan Ocean Co. Ltd.
The wealth fund is managed by Norway's central bank, but
decisions to place companies on observation are made based on
recommendations from an ethics council appointed by the Ministry of
Finance.
The fund's guidelines mean it doesn't invest in certain weapons
manufacturers, thermal coal miners, tobacco producers or companies
responsible for environmental damage or human rights violations,
for example.
Kirin Holdings was placed under observation in 2021 due to
human-rights concerns over the company's relationship with an
organization that has ties to the military in Myanmar.
"Kirin has ended the business relationship and no longer has any
activity in Myanmar. Hence, it is the council on ethics' assessment
that there are no longer grounds for having the company under
observation," Norges Bank Investment Management said.
Pan Ocean has been under observation since 2018 over concerns
the company disposed of obsolete vessels by sending them to be
broken up for scrap on the beaches of Bangladesh and Pakistan,
where working conditions are extremely poor.
"The company has recently adopted a new policy aimed at securing
that obsolete vessels are disposed of in a more sustainable way,"
NBIM said.
"The council on ethics has recommended to extend the observation
period with four years to assess the practical implementation of
the new policy."
Write to Dominic Chopping at dominic.chopping@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
March 23, 2023 05:02 ET (09:02 GMT)
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