OSLO: Norway’s $1.2 trillion sovereign wealth fund, the world’s largest, said Thursday it has completely divested its assets in the troubled Indian conglomerate Adani.
The fund, which is set up to put the country’s oil and gas revenues to work, held some $200 million worth of shares in the group at the end of 2022.
It had a stake of 0.14 percent in Adani Green Energy, 0.17 percent in Adani Total Gas and 0.3 percent in Adani Ports & Special Economic Zone.
“Since year-end, so the five weeks since year-end, we have further reduced our exposure in Adani companies significantly,” said Christopher Wright, the head of environmental, social and governance (ESG) risk monitoring at the fund.
“So today for all intents and purposes, we have no exposure left,” Wright added.
Between 2014 and 2023, the fund had already divested from six subsidiaries of the Adani conglomerate, mainly for environmental reasons, namely their role in deforestation and their high greenhouse gas emissions.
The business empire of Indian billionaire Gautam Adani lost around $120 billion in value after US short-selling investment group Hindenburg Research accused it of artificially inflating share prices in a report released in January.
It clawed back some of that this week after pledging to repay $1.1 billion worth of early loans in a move meant to reassure investors.
Hindenburg accused Adani of artificially boosting the share prices of its units by funnelling money into the stocks through offshore tax havens.
Adani has repeatedly denied the allegations and accused the US investment firm of a “maliciously mischievous” reputational attack.
Last year, the Norwegian fund divested from a record 74 companies worldwide, judging their ESG practices to be detrimental to their profitability, and from 13 others after recommendations from an ethics council.
The fund has investments in about 9,000 companies, as well as bonds and real estate, and is governed by ethical rules that prohibit it from investing in companies that commit serious human rights abuses, manufacture nuclear weapons, or are involved in coal and tobacco.
Norway’s sovereign wealth fund pulls out of Adani
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Norway’s sovereign wealth fund pulls out of Adani
- The fund, which is set up to put the country’s oil and gas revenues to work, held some $200 million worth of shares in Adani group at the end of 2022
Saudi stock market opens its doors to foreign investors
RIYADH: Foreigners will be able to invest directly in Saudi Arabia’s stock market from Feb. 1, the Kingdom’s Capital Market Authority has announced.
The CMA’s board has approved a regulatory change which will mean the capital market, across all its segments, will be accessible to investors from around the world for direct participation.
According to a statement, the approved amendments aim to expand and diversify the base of those permitted to invest in the Main Market, thereby supporting investment inflows and enhancing market liquidity.
International investors' ownership in the capital market exceeded SR590 billion ($157.32 billion) by the end of the third quarter of 2025, while international investments in the main market reached approximately SR519 billion during the same period — an annual rise of 4 percent.
“The approved amendments eliminated the concept of the Qualified Foreign Investor in the Main Market, thereby allowing all categories of foreign investors to access the market without the need to meet qualification requirements,” said the CMA, adding: “It also eliminated the regulatory framework governing swap agreements, which were used as an option to enable non-resident foreign investors to obtain economic benefits only from listed securities, and the allowance of direct investment in shares listed on the Main Market.”
In July, the CMA approved measures to simplify the procedures for opening and operating investment accounts for certain categories of investors. These included natural foreign investors residing in one of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, as well as those who had previously resided in the Kingdom or in any GCC country.
This step represented an interim phase leading up to the decision announced today, with the aim of increasing confidence among participants in the Main Market and supporting the local economy.
Saudi Arabia, which is more than halfway through an economic plan to reduce its dependence on oil, has been trying to attract foreign investors, including by establishing exchange-traded funds with Asian partners in Japan and Hong Kong.
