OSLO: Norway has banned Indian group Adani from investing in the country as the firm involved in unethical practices at large level. The decision was taken by Norges Bank (central bank of Norway) is one of the world’s largest sovereign wealth management fund, which exclusively invests abroad on behalf of Norway, with holdings in approximately 9,000 companies globally. The fund, which owns almost 1.5 percent of all shares in the world’s listed companies, has banned Indian group Adani from investing due to its HR and ethical concerns.
Norges Bank made a public declaration on Wednesday regarding its government pension fund. In this announcement, the bank disclosed its decision to exclude three companies from its investment portfolio based on ethical considerations. The companies in question are Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (APSEZ) from India, L3Harris Technologies, headquartered in the United States, and Weichai Power from China.
Notably, Adani Ports, a subsidiary of billionaire Gautam Adani’s conglomerate, faced exclusion due to the fund’s apprehensions about its potential involvement in “serious violations of individuals’ rights in situations of war or conflict.”
According to the Bank, the company has been under observation since March 2022, but that observation now ends with the exclusion decision. The decision follows recommendations late last year from Norway’s Council on Ethics, which advises the Oslo-based fund. According to reports, billionaire Gautam Adani’s company actively participated in a port terminal in Myanmar despite facing a ban from Western countries due to its poor human resources performance.
Since coming to power in 2014, the Bharatiya Janata Party, primarily a Hindu nationalist party, has diluted both globalization and secularism, and Mr. Adani, one of PM Modi’s close associates, has shown underhand involvement in BJP malpractices, such as disregarding ethics and social responsibility in business dealings. While following in their footsteps, Western countries must ensure that India adopts a paradigm of social and ethical responsibilities in line with their libertarian principles; otherwise, stern action, as adopted by the Norwegian Bank, is the only option.
As demonstrated by the Norwegian Bank, other financial entities and countries should consider similar exclusion and sanction measures against corporations that violate ethical norms in business.
