Why the Norwegian state pension fund sells shares of hemp companies for € 139 million
Despite the fact that the value of shares of cannabis companies has significantly increased compared even to the beginning of 2019 (for example, the value of Aurora Cannabis shares has almost doubled), NBIM plans to sell these assets and “leave” the extremely promising legal market for psychoactive hemp.
On the pages of the profile electronic publication of Ukrainian growers, materials have already been published that “The investment bubble is“ inflating ”on the hemp securities market”. Whether the decision of the Norwegian State Pension Fund Global (GPFG) is a reaction to ongoing calls indicating the problems of North American cannabis companies or is it still a desire to remain crystal clear to their shareholders is not for us to judge. The main goal of this publication is to push our reader to the idea that it is impossible not to understand the risks of the hemp market to invest in foreign companies that specialize in legal work with psychoactive hemp.
The huge Norwegian national welfare fund “blacklisted” five companies that produce psychoactive cannabis after a sharp criticism of investing in this field of activity from the Norwegian Narcotic Officers' Association (NNPF).
Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM, the central bank of the country), head of public relations, said that “We decided to no longer invest in companies that legally cultivate / process / sell psychoactive cannabis products.” NBIM sells shares of three Canadian and two American cannabis companies acquired by it before. Although the value of shares of cannabis companies has increased significantly, even since the beginning of 2019 (for example, the value of Aurora Cannabis shares has almost doubled), NBIM plans to sell these assets and "leave" the extremely promising legal market for psychoactive cannabis.
According to information actively circulating in Norway, the NNPF has subjected to crushing criticism the investment of financial resources of the fund in the economic sector, concerning the legal work with psychoactive hemp. In particular, representatives of the Norwegian Association of Anti-Drug Employees claim that, along with medical products, some companies in the aforementioned cannabis market are also the main producers of cannabis herb intended for recreational use.
According to the investment economist at the Scandinavian online broker Nordent Mads Johannesen (Mads Johannesen), “canna business has quickly become a popular choice of investment strategies in Scandinavian countries. In Northern Europe, only our company has collected more than 15,000 clients from various investment companies, but statistics show that the number of Norwegians who invest in companies operating in the legal market for psychoactive cannabis has significantly increased. ”
Commentary of the Association "Ukrainian technical hemp"
The use of cannabis for medical purposes is permitted on the territory of Norway, however, any activities related to recreational use of marijuana are prohibited. At the moment it is not clear what led to the fact that extremely profitable investments in North American companies that specialize in legal work with psychoactive cannabis will be curtailed and directed to other highly profitable areas of business not related to cannabis production. In particular, according to information provided by NBIM, at the end of 2018, Canadian Growth, Aphria and Aurora Cannabis, as well as the American Scotts Miracle-Gro and INSYS Therapeutics, invested a total of 909.6 million Norwegian crowns (93.1 million euros). ). These assets rose to approximately 1.4 trillion NOK by early March, making a profit of NOK 446 million in just two months.