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Recommendation of the Council on Ethics (PDF) 

In its Government Whitepaper no. 20 (2008-2009), the Ministry of Finance proposed that tobacco companies should be excluded from the investment universe of the Government Pension Fund Global. The proposition was supported by Stortinget (the Parliament).

In line with this, the Ministry has changed the Fund’s ethical guidelines to the effect that companies which produce tobacco are to be excluded from the Fund.

The Council on Ethics has reviewed the companies in the Fund which are classified as tobacco producers and thus subject to exclusion based on the new criterion. . . .

In its letter, the Ministry writes that, as stated in the Government Whitepaper no. 20 (2008- 2009), this new criterion for exclusion is based on the production of tobacco, not on the sale of tobacco products. Also, the criterion is limited to the production of tobacco products themselves, not to additives or ingredients used in the production of tobacco products.

The Council will therefore issue recommendations on companies which cultivate and process tobacco, and exclusion from the Fund will be recommended for all companies which manufacture products made from tobacco. Production of any form of tobacco product, regardless of its intended use, will form the basis for exclusion. . . .

2 “Altria Group's operating companies include Philip Morris USA, U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Company, John Middleton and Ste. Michelle Wine Estates. Our tobacco company brand portfolios consist of successful and well-known brand names such as Marlboro, Copenhagen, Skoal and Black & Mild. . . .

5 Recommendation

Based on the above, the Council on Ethics recommends that the companies

Alliance One International Inc., Altria Group Inc., British American Tobacco BHD, British American Tobacco Plc., Gudang Garam tbk pt., Imperial Tobacco Group Plc., ITC Ltd., Japan Tobacco Inc., KT&G Corp, Lorillard Inc., Philip Morris International Inc., Philip Morris Cr AS., Reynolds American Inc., Souza Cruz SA, Swedish Match AB, Universal Corp VA, and Vector Group Ltd.

be excluded from the Government Pension Fund Global.

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