Norway’s sovereign wealth fund, the world’s largest, has removed a host of large multinationals from its investment blacklist on ethical grounds.

Norges Bank, which owns an average of 1.4 per cent of every listed company in the world, said it was no longer excluding Walmart, Rio Tinto, General Dynamics, Nutrien and Carlos Slim’s Grupo Carso from its list of available investments.

The move comes as the $1tn investor receives the go-ahead from the Norwegian legislature to dump shares in coal and energy companies.

Norges said it was lifting exclusions on companies that its Council on Ethics decided had changed their ways.

The fund first divested from General Dynamics, the US defence company, in 2005 over its production of cluster bombs, which the company no longer makes.

Retailer Walmart and its Mexican subsidiary were first excluded by Norges in 2006 due to what the council deemed human rights violations. The council said the grounds for exclusion were no longer present.

In 2008 Norges excluded Rio Tinto, the Anglo-Australian miner, over what it said was the risk of severe environmental damage related to a mine in Indonesia. Rio Tinto has informed Norges that it has signed an agreement to sell the mine.

Grupo Carso, the Mexican conglomerate, was excluded in 2011 due to tobacco production, which it is no longer involved in.

Norges blacklisted Nutrien, the Canadian fertiliser company, over its operations in Western Sahara, which the fund said was no longer the case.

“A decision to revoke company exclusions implies that the Government Pension Fund Global is again allowed to invest in the companies,” Norges said.

“Re-introduction into the benchmark index will take place within an appropriately long timeframe. If and when share purchases will take place is left to Norges Bank to decide.”