Norway’s Sovereign Fund Exits Adani Ports on Ethical Grounds.
India’s largest port operator Adani Ports, has been divested from the Government Pension Fund Global (GPFG) of Norway. The Norges Bank cited concerns over Adani Port’s past ties to Myanmar’s military, which it deemed posed unacceptable risks.
This makes Adani Ports the 15th Indian company to be excluded by the Norwegian sovereign fund. Others previously barred include state giants like ONGC and NTPC and mining major Vedanta.
While Adani Ports claims to have fully divested its Myanmar unit last year, the Norges Bank stated the lack of information on the buyer precluded assessing any ongoing links. Given the serious human rights violations occurring in Myanmar, this was viewed as an unacceptable ethical risk for the pension fund.
The fund’s Council of Ethics acknowledged the port firm’s disclosure of exiting Myanmar in 2023. However, the inability to disclose buyer details due to confidentiality left questions unanswered.
Interestingly, the Norwegian fund had begun investing in Adani Ports after the Myanmar divestment announcement, earning nearly 70% returns within six months before the April 2022 exit order.
Adani Ports joins over a dozen other Indian companies that the Norwegian bank has excluded in recent years, mainly for ethics violations associated with tobacco, mining, power projects, and conflicts.
While the company maintains all Myanmar ties were severed in 2021, the deal’s lack of full transparency has cost it investments from Norway’s massive sovereign wealth fund.
