Norway wealth fund still unable to divest from Russia, government says

OSLO, March 31 (Reuters) - Norway's $1.3 trillion wealth fund, one of the world's largest investors, is still unable to divest its holdings in Russia, which the government decided it must do after the invasion of Ukraine, the Norwegian finance ministry said on Friday.

At the time of the invasion in February last year, the fund's Russian assets consisted of shares in 47 companies and some government bonds, which had been valued at a combined 25 billion Norwegian crowns ($2.40 billion) at the end of 2021.

"The market for trading in Russian financial instruments is still subject to comprehensive sanctions and has not been normalised as of March 2023," the Norwegian finance ministry said in a policy document.

"Hence, divestment cannot be executed for the time being." ($1 = 10.4305 Norwegian crowns)

(Reporting by Terje Solsvik, editing by Gwladys Fouche)