Norway’s sovereign fund will shun Canadian cannabis companies because the substance is still illegal in that country

By Steve Gelsi

Norway’s $1.2 trillion pension fund said it will not invest directly or indirectly in four Canadian cannabis stocks because cannabis remains illegal within its borders.

The Norwegian Government Pension Fund Global said production and sale of cannabis for recreational use “should be excluded as a new criterion for the exclusion of companies” from the fund.

The fund listed Tilray Inc. /zigman2/quotes/209129655/composite TLRY +1.09% /zigman2/quotes/226578748/delayed CA:TLRY +0.40% , Cronos Group /zigman2/quotes/206842762/composite CRON +0.48% /zigman2/quotes/202715342/delayed CA:CRON +0.36% , Aurora Cannabis /zigman2/quotes/210559470/composite ACB -0.37% /zigman2/quotes/203734337/delayed CA:ACB -2.94% , and Canopy Growth Corp. /zigman2/quotes/200603886/composite CGC +3.57% /zigman2/quotes/202205609/delayed CA:WEED +3.19% as excluded, according to a statement issued Wednesday.

The companies did not immediately respond to an email from MarketWatch seeking comment on Norway’s move.

The fund said it does not hold shares directly in the companies, but they are in the benchmark index for the fund.

Norway said its ruling is based on the recommendations issued in March and May from its council on ethics.

“Cannabis is a narcotic substance that is illegal to produce and sell in Norway, and Norway has ratified the International Drug Control Conventions,” according to a report from the Norwegian Ministry of Finance. “This expresses a fundamental value about which there is broad agreement in the population and which indicates that the production and sale of cannabis for recreational use should be included as a new criterion for the exclusion of companies from the [fund].”

Along with the cannabis stocks, Norway is also excluding tobacco stocks Scandinavian Tobacco Group A/S /zigman2/quotes/230162035/composite STBGY +26.23% , Eastern CO SAE EG:EAST +0.37% , and Hanjaya Mandala Sampoerna ID:HMSP -1.10% /zigman2/quotes/200215536/delayed PHJMF -16.67% , as well as two stocks with companies that it says contribute to environmental damage: Indian hydro power company NHPC Ltd /zigman2/quotes/200176507/delayed IN:533098 -1.68% and South Korean metals and mining company Young Poong Corp /zigman2/quotes/200107045/delayed KR:000670 -2.04% .

Also Read: California bill to allow vets to recommend cannabis for pets heads to governor’s desk

/zigman2/quotes/209129655/composite

Add to watchlist TLRY

Tilray Brands Inc.

US : U.S.: Nasdaq

$ 1.86

+0.02 +1.09%

Volume: 16.11M

Dec. 7, 2023 4:00p

P/E Ratio

N/A

Dividend Yield

N/A

Market Cap

$1.34 billion

Rev. per Employee

$406,789

/zigman2/quotes/226578748/delayed

Add to watchlist CA:TLRY

Tilray Brands Inc.

CA : Canada: Toronto

$ 2.53

+0.01 +0.40%

Volume: 995,676

Dec. 7, 2023 4:00p

P/E Ratio

N/A

Dividend Yield

N/A

Market Cap

$1.82 billion

Rev. per Employee

$547,877

/zigman2/quotes/206842762/composite

Add to watchlist CRON

Cronos Group Inc.

US : U.S.: Nasdaq

$ 2.08

+0.01 +0.48%

Volume: 1.20M

Dec. 7, 2023 4:00p

P/E Ratio

N/A

Dividend Yield

N/A

Market Cap

$786.76 million

Rev. per Employee

$194,322

/zigman2/quotes/202715342/delayed

Add to watchlist CA:CRON

Cronos Group Inc.

CA : Canada: Toronto

$ 2.81

+0.01 +0.36%

Volume: 138,043

Dec. 7, 2023 4:00p

P/E Ratio

N/A

Dividend Yield

N/A

Market Cap

$1.07 billion

Rev. per Employee

$262,059

/zigman2/quotes/210559470/composite

Add to watchlist ACB

Aurora Cannabis Inc.

US : U.S.: Nasdaq

$ 0.49

-0.0018 -0.37%

Volume: 3.89M

Dec. 7, 2023 4:00p

P/E Ratio

0.62

Dividend Yield

N/A

Market Cap

$218.00 million

Rev. per Employee

$178,735

/zigman2/quotes/203734337/delayed

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Aurora Cannabis Inc.

CA : Canada: Toronto

$ 0.66

-0.02 -2.94%

Volume: 1.14M

Dec. 7, 2023 4:00p

P/E Ratio

0.61

Dividend Yield

N/A

Market Cap

$295.69 million

Rev. per Employee

$241,009

/zigman2/quotes/200603886/composite

Add to watchlist CGC

Canopy Growth Corp.

US : U.S.: Nasdaq

$ 0.72

+0.02 +3.57%

Volume: 25.14M

Dec. 7, 2023 4:00p

P/E Ratio

N/A

Dividend Yield

N/A

Market Cap

$574.59 million

Rev. per Employee

$161,563

/zigman2/quotes/202205609/delayed

Add to watchlist CA:WEED

Canopy Growth Corp.

CA : Canada: Toronto

$ 0.97

+0.03 +3.19%

Volume: 6.69M

Dec. 7, 2023 4:00p

P/E Ratio

N/A

Dividend Yield

N/A

Market Cap

$779.34 million

Rev. per Employee

$217,919

/zigman2/quotes/230162035/composite

Add to watchlist STBGY

Skandinavisk Tobakskompagni A/S ADR

US : U.S.: OTC

$ 9.00

+1.87 +26.23%

Volume: 100.00

Dec. 4, 2023 3:42p

P/E Ratio

8.03

Dividend Yield

N/A

Market Cap

$1.49 billion

Rev. per Employee

N/A

Add to watchlist EG:EAST

Eastern Co. SAE

EG : Egyptian Exchange

ج.م.‏ 26.90

+0.10 +0.37%

Volume: 772,390

Dec. 7, 2023 12:00a

P/E Ratio

N/A

Dividend Yield

13.94%

Market Cap

ج.م.‏61.64 billion

Rev. per Employee

N/A

Add to watchlist ID:HMSP

Hanjaya Mandala Sampoerna

ID : Indonesia: Jakarta

Rp 900.00

-10.00 -1.10%

Volume: 39.20M

Dec. 7, 2023 12:00a

P/E Ratio

13.73

Dividend Yield

N/A

Market Cap

Rp105849.45 billion

Rev. per Employee

Rp2.32B

/zigman2/quotes/200215536/delayed

Add to watchlist PHJMF

Hanjaya Mandala Sampoerna

US : U.S.: OTC

$ 0.05

-0.01 -16.67%

Volume: 42,600

Dec. 5, 2023 1:17p

P/E Ratio

11.63

Dividend Yield

N/A

Market Cap

$6.83 billion

Rev. per Employee

$152,827

/zigman2/quotes/200176507/delayed

Add to watchlist IN:533098

NHPC Ltd.

IN : India: Bombay

₹ 63.20

-1.08 -1.68%

Volume: 6.55M

Dec. 8, 2023 3:59p

P/E Ratio

16.29

Dividend Yield

2.93%

Market Cap

₹605.11 billion

Rev. per Employee

₹8.82M

/zigman2/quotes/200107045/delayed

Add to watchlist KR:000670

Young Poong Corp.

KR : S. Korea: KRX

₩ 527,000

-11,000 -2.04%

Volume: 1,006

Dec. 8, 2023 3:30p

P/E Ratio

4.10

Dividend Yield

1.90%

Market Cap

₩934.03 billion

Rev. per Employee

₩5.57B