Norway’s sovereign wealth fund, the world’s largest managing property over $2.2 trillion, has determined to not spend money on Adani Inexperienced Vitality Ltd, citing corruption and monetary crime allegations in opposition to the corporate.
The Authorities Pension Fund International held 0.23% of Adani Inexperienced Vitality as of 26 August 2025, value $43.9 million on the time, when it final voted on the corporate’s shareholder resolutions. Norges Financial institution, which manages the sovereign wealth fund, didn’t touch upon whether or not it has divested its stake since.
The choice was made public on Thursday on its web site when it added Adani Inexperienced to its exclusion listing, making it the second group agency to function amongst over 200 corporations that don’t align with the Norwegian wealth fund’s ethics.
Adani Ports and Particular Financial Zone Ltd was added to the listing on 15 Could 2024 because of its possession of a port terminal in Myanmar, the place the armed forces had overthrown the democratically elected authorities in a coup.
Norges didn’t disclose the main points or proof supporting corruption allegations in opposition to Adani Inexperienced Vitality. As a apply, the fund supplies an in depth rationalization every time it provides an organization to the exclusion listing.
A spokesperson for Norway’s declined to remark. The Adani Group didn’t reply to queries.
Norges’s funding selections might wield important affect over international buyers, given the dimensions of its property. The fund owns about 1.5% of the world’s listed market capitalization.
“If a marquee investor like Norges is exiting, it might immediate a number of different international buyers additionally to promote their stakes within the firm. However it might not have an effect on the corporate’s potential to draw buyers,” mentioned Shriram Subramanian, managing director of proxy advisory agency InGovern. “There are numerous lessons of buyers and the corporate at all times has a recourse to take a look at different varieties of buyers.”
Adani indictment
US regulators indicted Adani Group chair Gautam Adani and his nephew, and Adani Inexperienced Vitality director, Sagar Adani, for corruption and securities fraud in November 2024. The US Securities and Change Fee and the US Division of Justice initiated proceedings in opposition to the Adani kin and some different executives over allegations that they bribed unnamed authorities officers in India to obtain renewable energy provide contracts. The US regulators alleged that they didn’t disclose this bribery when subsequently elevating funds within the US from American buyers, thus committing securities fraud. The case is pending in a US court docket.
Earlier, the Indian conglomerate denied wrongdoing. Late in January, Adani Inexperienced Vitality clarified that the allegations and court docket proceedings had been initiated in opposition to its executives, and never in opposition to the corporate itself.
Norges’ choice comes only a month after attorneys representing the US SEC and the Adani executives agreed on a structured timeline for making submissions earlier than a US district court docket, setting the stage for a doubtlessly protracted authorized battle.
Adani Inexperienced Vitality’s shares closed 1.77% decrease at ₹948.2 on the BSE on Friday in comparison with a 1.17% decline within the benchmark Sensex. The scrip has misplaced over 7% to date this yr in opposition to a drop of over 4% in Sensex.
In addition to Adani Inexperienced Vitality, the Norwegian fund held a 0.05% stake, value $3.2 million, in Adani Complete Gasoline Ltd as of 31 December.
Even Berkshire Hathaway excluded
Norges has strict funding standards dictated by Norwegian legislation.
The sovereign wealth fund is barred from investing in corporations that, amongst different issues, produce or promote tobacco or hashish merchandise, have interaction with coal mining or coal-based vitality manufacturing, are a part of the nuclear weapons ecosystem, or are accused of human rights violations. Such standards have it exclude even the likes of Warren Buffett-controlled Berkshire Hathaway Inc. for its investments in coal or coal-based vitality.
Its exclusion listing comprises 16 Indian corporations, together with Bharat Electronics Ltd, Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd, ITC Ltd, Vedanta Ltd, Coal India Ltd, NTPC Ltd and Tata Energy Ltd.