The government decided to freeze Russian holdings in the fund in response to the country’s invasion of Ukraine and plans to divest them in due course, Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store told reporters in Oslo on Sunday. Norges Bank Investment Management held about 25 billion kroner ($2.8 billion) there at the end of the year, Finance Minister Trygve Slagsvold Vedum said.
The Oslo-based fund is the world’s biggest owner of publicly traded companies with a portfolio of about 9,000 stocks.
The government made its decision despite Chief Executive Officer Nicolai Tangen on Friday describing such a move as a “wrapped gift to the oligarchs” who would buy the shares.
Until now, Norway has been careful to avoid being seen as using the fund as a political tool. Previous attempts to impose political goals on the institution have been met with criticism that its overarching goal must be the highest possible return over time.
Norway’s decision comes after Russian markets slumped last week and follows U.S. plans with its European allies to ban transactions with the central bank in Moscow and cut off various Russian lenders from the critical SWIFT financial messaging system.
(source:Bloomberg)
