Managers of the Norwegian sovereign wealth fund held a press conference this morning about the reduction in its investments in Israel, which has become a major issue on the local agenda over the past week. The fund’s chairman Nicolai Tangen said that the fund had reduced the number of Israeli companies in its portfolio from 65 at the beginning of the year to 61 at the beginning of this month and over the past week has sold its stakes in 11 more Israeli companies.
Tangen said that the process of reducing holdings is not yet over, and “The fund is expected to end its investments in additional Israeli companies.” The Norwegian banker did not specify which companies are in question. The fund has until August 20 to respond to the Norwegian government, which has asked it to review all its investments in Israel.
Norwegian newspaper “E24” is the only local media outlet to have published the list of companies whose shares the fund has sold. According to the newspaper, which was not been confirmed by officials of the fund, these are 17 companies in which holdings have been disinvested over the past year: Luzon Group, Turpaz, Azorim, Beit Shemesh Engines, Delek Motors, El Al, Energix, eToro, Max Stock, Levenstein Engineering, Priortech, Rami Levy, Reit 1, Retailers, and Sela Real Estate.
“E24” reports that at the end of the process the fund will remain with 44 Israeli companies in its portfolio.
“We should have done this sooner”
The fund reported that it increased its investments in Israel by 500 million Norwegian kroner ($50 million) in the first half of 2025, and held Israeli assets worth $2.15 billion before the disinvestment process. Worldwide, the fund reported returns of about $60 billion in the first half of the year, on assets worth about $2 trillion. The fund holds 1.5% of all traded stocks in the world.
Last week, following allegations of a connection between the Beit Shemesh Engines, which was in the fund’s portfolio, and the Israeli Air Force, and due to next month’s elections in Norway, the center-left government in Oslo ordered the fund to review its holdings in Israel. The majority of the Norwegian public wants to completely get rid of its holdings in Israel, according to polls, but the fund has made it clear that it will liquidate investments only according to defined criteria.
In the past, the fund has divested from Israeli companies for their activities across the Green Line, but in its decision in recent days, it decided to sell holdings in 11 Israeli companies that are not in the “basic index” of its investments, based on economic criteria. The fund also terminated its relationships with three Israeli investment institutions that managed its holdings in Israel, and said it would operate independently and manage the investments alone.
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Tangen said at the press conference that he “takes responsibility” for not recognizing that the fund should “withdraw its financial management from Israeli bodies, because Israel is a country at war,” and make its investments in Israel independently. “We should have done this earlier, and we take into account the criticism on this issue,” he said. He added that it was important for the fund to “maintain the trust of the Norwegian people.”
According to a poll on Norwegian television yesterday, 62% of respondents support diverting all investments away from Israel due to the war in Gaza, 19% oppose it, and 19% said they did not know.
Published by Globes, Israel business news – en.globes.co.il – on August 12, 2025.
© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd., 2025.
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