Wednesday, July 30, 2025

World’s largest wealth fund divests from Pemex, citing corruption

Norway’s US $1.8-trillion sovereign wealth fund, the world’s largest, has sold all of its fixed-income investments in Mexico’s state-owned Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex), it announced on Sunday. It cited a lack of transparency over corruption as the main reason for the divestment.  

“Investigations have revealed that Pemex may be linked to multiple allegations or suspicions of corruption in Mexico in the period 2004-2023,” the fund’s ethics watchdog, the Council on Ethics, said in a statement.

“The Council attaches importance to the fact that a significant number of company employees, including a former senior executive, are alleged to have received bribes on several separate occasions,” it added.  

The watchdog’s report cites investigations such as the Odebrecht scandal and the imprisonment of former Pemex CEO Emilio Lozoya for the fraudulent sale of a fertilizer plant in Veracruz, as well as other high-profile Pemex corruption cases from the past 20 years. 

Norway’s Wealth Fund operates under guidelines set by Norway’s parliament and is viewed as a leader in environmental, social and governance practices. 

Norway’s sovereign wealth fund has a small stake in more than 8,500 companies across most countries and industries, and is well-respected for its investment in companies that minimize negative effects on the environment and society. (Norges Bank)

As of last June, the fund held Pemex securities with a value of approximately $138 million. 

Pemex addressed the Council on Monday, saying that it had responded promptly to requests for information from the wealth fund. However, the watchdog upheld its recommendation to withdraw investments. 

While the watchdog acknowledged that Pemex had an anti-corruption system in place, it said that the oil firm could offer little information on how the system works in practice.   

The report stated, there is not “sufficient information, specifically on acts of corruption in 2017, reported in the media.”

In addition, the report exposed accusations of favoritism toward certain suppliers and bribes from other companies in exchange for assistance with contracting processes. Multiple former Pemex employees were implicated, and several cases have resulted in legal settlements in the United States.

Will Pemex thrive under new leadership?

Pemex’s debt stands at around $100 billion at present. The previous López Obrador administration pledged economic support to help alleviate the financial burdens, a move that President Claudia Sheinbaum’s administration has continued

Pemex to pay back US $6.4B in debt by the end of April

In October, Víctor Rodríguez Padilla was appointed as the new CEO of Pemex, heralding a new era. An internal Pemex document at the time stated plans for the firm to develop new business models to attract investment during Sheinbaum’s 2024–2030 administration and ramp up deepwater oil exploration. 

Pemex reported a net loss of 43.3 billion pesos (US $2.2 billion) in the first quarter of 2025 and a fall in oil output.  

With reports from Reuters and El País

16 COMMENTS

Have something to say? Paid Subscribers get all access to make & read comments.
Small Brazilian and Mexican flags

42 Brazilian companies eye major investments in Mexico amid US trade concerns

0
The mutual interest in each other's markets has been simmering lately, as the two largest nations in Latin America look to diversify their trade agreements.
pemex profits

Pemex posts first quarterly profit in a year despite decline in production

2
The rise in Pemex’s fortunes was helped largely by the peso’s favorable exchange rate, but the company — the world's most indebted energy firm — still faces considerable challenges.
cargo ready for shipping

Mexico’s export revenue shot up 10.6% in June, with manufacturing leading the way

1
Total earnings from exports for the first half of 2025 were up 4.4% over the same six-month period last year, despite the turbulent year for foreign trade.
BETA Version - Powered by Perplexity