Norway’s FinMin Adds Russia and Belarus to SWF Government Bond Exclusion List
Posted on 03/28/2022
Norway’s Ministry of Finance added Russia and Belarus to a list of countries in which the Norway Government Pension Fund Global cannot invest in their government bonds. Other countries on that list include Syria and North Korea.
The ministry announced on March 25, 2022: “Based on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ assessments, the Ministry of Finance has concluded that Syria and North Korea will continue to be covered by the government bond exemption and that Russia and Belarus will be added.”
On March 15, 2022, Norges Bank Investment Management, which manages the country’s sovereign wealth fund, formed a plan to divest from Russian assets.