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Executives who run the world’s largest sovereign wealth fund have put a company in which it invests under scrutiny because of its ties to the military in Myanmar.
The Ethics Council, which assesses whether the companies in which the Government Pension Fund Global invests are consistent with the fund’s ethical guidelines, recommended that Japanese consumer goods company Kirin Holdings Co. be placed under scrutiny “due to unacceptable risk. that the company contributes to serious violations of the rights of people in situations of war or conflict, “said a press release.
GPFG, which had NOK 10.91 trillion ($ 1.27 trillion) in assets as of December 31, had an investment of NOK 2.4 billion in the company as of that date, according to its website.
The recommendation was based on Kirin’s business cooperation with an organization that has ties to the Myanmar military. However, Kirin recently announced his intention to end business cooperation. Norges Bank, which oversees the endowment fund, will monitor the implementation of this change as part of its observation.
Kirin is “deeply concerned by the recent actions of the army in Myanmar, which go against our human rights policy and standards,” said a February 5 press release.
The firm has invested in the country in 2015. “Given the current circumstances, we have no choice but to terminate our current joint venture with Myanma Economic Holdings Public Co. Ltd., which provides the welfare fund management service for the armed forces. We will take urgent action to make this termination effective. “
The GPFG executive board also decided to implement “active ownership” for the steel production and industrial engineering company ThyssenKrupp. The decision follows a recommendation by the council to put the company under observation due to the unacceptable risk that it contributes to or is responsible for serious corruption.
Norges Bank has been in discussions with the company for “a long period of time. Therefore, we have a good basis for active participation in the issues this matter relates to,” the statement read.
The exclusion of the construction company Atal SA / Poland was revoked. The company had been excluded since 2017 due to the unacceptable risk of having contributed to serious human rights violations by using North Korean workers on construction sites in Poland.
“As a result of a resolution in the UN Security Council, all North Korean workers have been sent out of Poland. Therefore, there is no longer any reason to exclude the company,” the statement said.
GPFG has small interests in more than 9,000 companies around the world.
