Decisions about completed observation and reinclusion of companies in Government Pension Fund Global (GPFG)

Completed observation

On the 24^th of June 2011 the Council on Ethics recommended to put the British company Randgold Resources Ltd. under observation due to the risk of contributing to serious violations of the rights of individuals in situations of war or conflict while establishing a gold mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo ( DRC ). The company has been under a so-called closed observation. The Council on Ethics recommended on the 13^th of January 2014 to end the observation of the company. Based on an evaluation of how the company has handled the situation during the observation period, the Council on Ethics can no longer see that there is an unacceptable risk that the company is contributing to or is responsible for serious violations of the rights of individuals in situations of war or conflict.

The Ministry of Finance has decided to follow the recommendation.

Read more:

• Recommendation to end the observation of the company
• Observation report
• Recommendation to put the company under observation
• Council on Ethics for the Government Pension Fund Global

 

Reinclusion  
The GPFG's guidelines for observation and exclusion § 2, subsection c, states that the fund's assets shall not be invested in companies that themselves or through entities controlled by them sell weapons or military equipment to countries that are included in the government bond exception mentioned in the mandate for management of the Fund § 3-1 second paragraph c .The government bond exemption previously applied only to bonds issued by Myanmar. On this background, The Council on Ethics submitted on 14^th November 2008 a recommendation to the Ministry to exclude Dongfeng Motor Group Co. Ltd. from SPU because the company supplied military vehicles to the authorities in Myanmar.

The Ministry of Finance decided to follow the recommendation, and the company has been excluded from the Fund since March 2009.

International sanctions and measures change over time. On 30^th of January 2014 the Ministry of Finance announced that it in consultation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, had assessed that the exemption no longer should apply for Myanmar. In a letter of 28^th of January 2014, the Council on Ethics was informed of the decision. This meant that the basis for the exclusion of the company no longer existed. The Council therefore recommended in its recommendation of 31^st January 2014 that the exclusion of the company was repealed.

The Ministry of Finance has decided to follow the recommendation.

Read more:

• Recommendation to reinclude the company
• Recommendation to exclude the company
• Council on Ethics for the Government Pension Fund Global