NORWAY - The NOK1.8trn (€220bn) Norwegian Government Pension Fund - Global is to screen its equity holdings to filter companies with connections to certain types of weapon production.

It has issued a tender to find a provider so it doesn't clash with its ethical guidelines.

A spokesman for the fund told IPE that the tender follows the scheduled increase in the fund's equity portfolio which brought the companies in the FRSE All Cap/Lehman Global Aggregate Indices to around 7,000 from 2,400.

The provider is to produce a quarterly report on the companies it has found to have any connections to the production of cluster weapons, anti-personnel landmines, nuclear weapons, non-detectable fragments, blinding laser weapons, incendiary weapons, biological weapons and chemical weapons, or in the production of key components for such weapons.

The report must contain "detailed information on the nature of the involvement of the companies and the sources for this information," the fund stated.

Currently the fund's ethical council has a contract with the British research institute EIRiS to screen the fund's portfolio for companies that produce the above-mentioned weapons.

Last week, Norwegian media had criticised the fund over its investment in the German arms maker Rheinmetall which according to Human Rights Watch also produces cluster bombs.

Deadline for participation is May 10.

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