Norway should begin process of divesting Russian assets, central bank says

4/12/2024 16:40

        Norway's government should allow the country's sovereign wealth fund to divest parts of its Russian portfolio when possible, and thus end a general freeze in place since 2022, the Norwegian central bank, which manages the fund, said on Wednesday.
        
        The Norwegian finance ministry ordered a halt to all transactions in the fund's Russian assets shortly after Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February of 2022 but said at the time that the ultimate goal was to divest its holdings.
        
        While it is not possible to draw up a general divestment plan, the fund should now be allowed to sell Russian assets if and when opportunities arise, the central bank said in an Aug. 24 letter to the finance ministry released on Wednesday.
        
        "Such an approach to seizing divestment opportunities would mean an end to the general freeze on the fund's investments in Russia," it said.