Norway’s central bank — Norges Bank — has decided to exclude Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (APSEZ) and two other firms from its government pension fund over ethical concerns.

The other two firms are US-based L3Harris Technologies Inc and China’s Weichai Power Co Ltd.

``The Norges Bank executive board has decided to exclude the company Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd due to unacceptable risk that the company contributes to serious violations of individuals' rights in situations of war or conflict,’’ it said.

Norges Bank added that the company has been under observation since March 2022, but this now ends given the exclusion decision. The decision is based on a recommendation from the Council on Ethics of November 21, 2023.

The Council on Ethics had recommended that APSEZ be excluded from investment by the Norwegian Government Pension Fund Global (GPFG).

``As per the Council’s recommendation, APSEZ has been under observation since March 2022 due to its business association with the armed forces in Myanmar,’’ it said.

According to the Council, in May 2023, APSEZ said it sold its port-related operations in Myanmar to Solar Energy Ltd.

However, no information on the buyer is available, and APSEZ has stated it cannot share any information.

``Lack of information means that the Council cannot establish whether APSEZ has links to the enterprise concerned. In a situation in which extremely serious norm violations are taking place, this constitutes an unacceptable risk that the GPFG’s (The Government Pension Fund Global) investments in APSEZ may breach its ethical guidelines,’’ it added.