Norway suspends "moral investment rules" to prevent the world's largest sovereign fund from selling off US tech stocks.

```

Norway has suspended the ethical investment rules of its $2.1 trillion sovereign wealth fund to avoid being forced to sell shares in U.S. tech giants such as Amazon, Microsoft, and Alphabet.

According to media reports, Norway's center-left government urgently pushed a proposal through parliament on Tuesday to suspend the work of the independent ethics committee. The country's Finance Minister Jens Stoltenberg stated that the ethics committee had planned to review tech companies like Amazon, Microsoft, and Google's parent company Alphabet, as well as companies listed on the United Nations blacklist in July.

UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese noted in her report that these three tech giants "provide Israel with cloud computing and artificial intelligence technology access covering virtually the entire government, enhancing its data processing, decision-making, surveillance, and analysis capabilities."

Previously, the world's largest sovereign wealth fund had gone through months of turmoil over the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Under domestic political and public pressure, the fund has sold half of its Israeli holdings and divested from Caterpillar due to its bulldozers being used in Palestinian territories. Stoltenberg revealed that the U.S. has publicly expressed concern over the Caterpillar divestment incident.

Divestment Threatens Core Holdings, Consideration to Relax Defense Investment Restrictions

The fund's holdings in the seven major U.S. tech giants account for more than 15% of its stock portfolio.

Stoltenberg stated that it is clear the current framework could lead the independent body to decide to exit some of the world's largest companies. This would undermine the fund's purpose as a broad, diversified global investment fund. The fund contributes about a quarter of Norway's national budget each year.

The proposal only passed with the support of two major center-right opposition parties. Left-wing parties—the government's budget allies—harshly criticized the measure. Green Party leader Arild Hermstad said: "This means that if you are a big enough company, you can do whatever you want."

Socialist Left Party leader Kirsti Bergstø said in another interview: "Norwegian politics should not be dictated by Trump’s intimidation tactics. I’m concerned that the decision now made by the Norwegian government is meant to pander to him and tech oligarchs, rather than the moral convictions of the Norwegian people."

Stoltenberg also revealed that the upcoming review of the fund’s ethical guidelines will consider whether to allow more investments in defense companies. Boeing, Airbus, BAE Systems, and Lockheed Martin have been excluded from investments for manufacturing nuclear weapons components.

Risk Warning and DisclaimerThe market is risky; investments should be made cautiously. This article does not constitute personal investment advice and also does not take into account the individual investment objectives, financial situation, or needs of any particular user. Users should consider whether any opinions, views, or conclusions in this article fit their particular circumstances. Investing based on this is at your own risk. ```