Nordic fund KLP excludes Caterpillar from portfolios due to Israel sales

OSLO (Reuters) - Norway's largest pension fund KLP said on Wednesday it will no longer invest in Caterpillar Inc because of risk that equipment sold by the U.S. group to Israel is used to demolish Palestinian homes and infrastructure, including in the Gaza war.

The maker of bulldozers and other heavy machinery may be contributing to human rights abuses and to the violation of international law in Gaza and the West Bank, and has thus been excluded from the portfolio, KLP said.

The fund manager held shares in Caterpillar worth 728 million Norwegian crowns ($69 million) prior to a June 17 decision to divest its stake.

While KLP had engaged in a dialogue with Caterpillar over several months, it did not receive satisfactory assurances that the company was able to reduce the risk of violating the rights of individuals, the asset manager said.

Israel's ground and air campaign in Gaza was triggered when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, killing around 1,200 people and seizing more than 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.

The Israeli offensive in retaliation has so far killed 37,658 people, the Gaza health ministry said on Tuesday.

KLP in 2021 excluded 16 Israeli, European and U.S. companies from its portfolio because of their links to Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.

Along with a number of other countries, Norway considers the settlements a breach of international law. Israel disputes this and cites Biblical and historical ties to the land, as well as security needs.

($1 = 10.5538 Norwegian crowns)

(Reporting by Terje Solsvik; Editing by Susan Fenton)