Norway historic pause in the Sovereign Wealth Fund's ethical guidelines allows it to retain stakes in American technology giants it has invested in.

The Norwegian parliament voted to suspend the policy of divesting its $2.1 trillion sovereign wealth fund based on "ethical" reasons and to redesign the relevant rules. This move is a historic moment for the world's largest sovereign wealth fund and raises fundamental questions about its ESG strategy. The decision was pushed through by the Norwegian Labour Party government with the support of the Conservative opposition, allowing the fund to retain its holdings in tech giants like Microsoft and Amazon. According to existing regulations, these companies' links to the Israel-Gaza conflict should have forced the fund to divest. This is the first time in the history of the Norwegian sovereign wealth fund that its ethics committee's work has been temporarily suspended.