"ノルウェー中央銀行、KDDIと住友商事を投資除外監視リストに追加 ," 25 December 2023

[Japanese-to-English translation: Business & Human Rights Resource Centre]

The Executive Board of the Norges Bank has decided to place KDDI Corp and Sumitomo Corp under observation for possible exclusion from the Norwegian Government Pension Fund Global (GPFG). For three years, the Council on Ethics will observe the companies’ further efforts to manage human rights risks and the development of the companies’ business in Myanmar...

KDDI Corp and Sumitomo Corp has a joint venture company, KDDI SUMMIT GLOBAL SINGAPORE PTE. LTD., in Singapore. A subsidiary of this venture company in Myanmar, KDDI Summit Global Myanmar Co., Ltd. (KSGM), participates in the telecommunications sector of Myanma Posts and Telecommunications (MPT)...

GPFG is ... one of the world's largest sovereign wealth funds, investing in 11,549 companies in 69 countries, with assets of 172 trillion yen at current rates and having a significant impact on global investment...

The Council on Ethics makes recommendations to Norges Bank assessing the companies based on ethical guidelines. The Guidelines for Observation and Exclusion from the Government Pension Fund Global § 4 b provides that "Companies may be excluded or placed under observation if there is an unacceptable risk that the company contributes to or is responsible for serious violations of the rights of individuals in situations of war or conflict." ...

In the recommendations to KDDI Corp and Sumitomo Corp, it is mentioned that "MPT ... [that is] under military control ...and other telecoms operators in Myanmar have been ordered to install and activate spyware and surveillance software that enable the regime to monitor customers’ phone and internet use in real time... The level of surveillance has intensified since the coup." The Council recommended exclusion of the companies...