STOCKHOLM: Three NGOs mentioned on Friday (Nov 28) that Swedish pension funds had invested US$485 million in corporations promoting arms to or doing enterprise with Myanmar’s army rulers.
Sweden’s greatest pension fund responded that it was reviewing its investments and will resolve inside weeks to cease placing cash into among the companies named.
The Swedish Committee for Burma, Justice for Myanmar and Honest Finance Information mentioned pension funds had invested 4.6 million kronor (US$485 million) into 12 corporations promoting weapons to or doing enterprise with Myanmar’s army.
“By far the biggest funding is made by the Seventh Swedish Pension Fund (AP7), the place six million Swedes have their pension cash,” mentioned the research, which was carried out by the three teams.
It mentioned the fund had put 2.7 billion kronor into corporations – together with 620 million kronor into Indian companies Bharat Electronics and Hindustan Aeronautics – “which have exported weapons and army gear to the army” in Myanmar.
The research additionally named investments by AP7 and different Swedish pension funds in Thai oil firm PTT and Japanese cellphone operator KDDI.
AP7 spokesman Johan Floren mentioned the fund repeatedly reviewed its investments.
“The scenario in Myanmar has been a disaster for a number of years,” Floren informed AFP.
“Over time we’ve got sought info and we exclude corporations twice a yr on the idea of this info. We now have already excluded some corporations,” he added.
Floren mentioned AP7 was “very conscious” of the danger posed by some corporations.
“For others, there are accusations however we battle to seek out the weather that verify them. And a few have fairly merely by no means been recognized … earlier than on this context,” he added.
AP7 would full its personal assessment in about two weeks, and it was “very attainable” that some companies named by the NGOs could be excluded from AP7’s funding portfolio, he mentioned.
Myanmar’s army seized energy in a 2021 coup, sparking a civil warfare.
It has mentioned that phased elections as a consequence of begin on Dec 28 are step one in the direction of reconciliation.
However opposition teams have mentioned they are going to boycott the election and rights displays have mentioned it is not going to be free.
