Norges Bank has decided to exclude four companies from the Government Pension Fund Global, as well as to revoke the exclusion of one company.
The Executive Board has decided to exclude the companies China Traditional Chinese Medicine Holdings Co Ltd, Beijing Tong Ren Tang Chinese Medicine Co Ltd, Tong Ren Tang Technologies Co Ltd, and China Grand Pharmaceutical and Healthcare Holdings Ltd due to unacceptable risk that the companies contribute to serious environmental damage, ref. the conduct-based criteria in section 3 (1) (c) of the Guidelines for Observation and Exclusion from the Government Pension Fund Global. The decisions are based on recommendations from the Council on Ethics of 15 March 2021 and 28 April 2021.
The Executive Board has also decided to revoke the exclusion of Hanwha Corp. The company has been excluded since 2008 due to production of cluster munitions. The decisions are based on a recommendation from the Council on Ethics of 27 May 2021. The Council on Ethics has stated that Hanwha Corp no longer has any activities related to the production of cluster munitions, and that the company has confirmed this.
The Executive Board has not conducted an independent assessment of all aspects of the recommendations, but is satisfied that the exclusion criteria have been fulfilled. Before deciding to exclude a company, Norges Bank shall consider whether the use of other measures, including the exercise of ownership rights, may be better suited. The Executive Board concludes that it is not appropriate to use other measures in these cases.
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