The country's largest pension manager blacklisted Saudi Aramco, the world's largest oil company, in addition to eleven other companies in the Middle East, according to a report on Thursday.

Before Business today who first mentioned the report.

Apart from the oil company Saudi Aramco, there are also companies in the building, construction, property and telecommunications sectors in the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Kuwait.

Human rights violations

The 11 companies were excluded because the KLP believes there is an “unacceptable risk of involvement of certain sectors in human rights violations”.

In addition, Saudi Aramco was not included due to its proximity to the state of Saudi Arabia and its authoritarian government system. Apart from that, the company's climate and energy transition plans are considered weak.

– The Saudi Aramco company is 90 percent owned by the Saudi Arabian state, and in practice it is considered demanding to influence the company through active ownership. In this perspective, the company seems very risky, according to the report.

Saudi Aramco is Saudi Arabia's state-owned oil company. It is the world's largest oil company, both measured by oil production and proven oil reserves. It had a turnover in 2022 of 535.2 billion dollars.

– We must be broad investors, but at the same time we must show limits in terms of acceptable risk. There is a demanding balance between making an impact through active ownership and recognizing where the risks are too high, said Kiran Aziz, head of responsible investing at KLP.

AI risks

KLP believes that investment in telecommunications in the Gulf countries raises several important issues. It was concluded, among other things, that the central role of authority makes it difficult for KLP to exert influence on these companies.

– States have authoritarian systems of government that limit freedom of expression and political rights. There are several companies accused of carrying out systematic and extensive population monitoring, both on social media and other communications. Such surveillance violates human rights, the report said.

The KLP stated that the development of advanced technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI), increases the risk of systematic surveillance and censorship.

In the construction sector, there is a high probability that KLP will contribute to human rights violations through ownership.

Russia and Israel

KLP manages more than NOK 700 billion. Last year, pension funds excluded Russian companies due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The previous year, KLP sold stakes in companies linked to Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, including telecommunications giant Motorola.

The following twelve companies are now excluded:

Saudi Aramco, Saudi Arabia, Emirates Telecom Group, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Telecom, Saudi Arabia, Emaar Properties, United Arab Emirates, Aldar Properties, United Arab Emirates, Etihad Etisalat, Saudi Arabia, Mobile Telecommunications, Kuwait, Dar Al Arkan Real Estate , Saudi Arabia, Ooredoo, Qatar, Mobile Telecommunication, Saudi Arabia, Mabanee, Kuwait and Barwa Real Estate, Qatar.