The Government’s $13.1 billion New Zealand Super Fund has admitted that companies it invests in with operations in military-ruled Myanmar have “mixed” records on human rights.

Investigations by The Press show the fund has pumped tens of millions of dollars into seven international energy companies accused by critics of helping prop up Myanmar’s brutal regime.

The fund told The Press yesterday it was committed to working with companies in countries with a high risk of human rights violations to improve their policies and practices.

It said responsible investment standards were constantly evolving and it had holdings in about 3000 companies.

“The fund holds stocks of multinational companies that undertake some of their business activities in Myanmar,” a spokeswoman for the fund said.

“Information we have suggests that the human rights practices and policies of these companies is mixed, with some companies responding positively to shareholder engagement to act consistent with United Nations standards.

“We continue to work with other investors to assess the most effective course of action to engage with these companies to meet UN Global Compact standards.”

The spokeswoman said that if international or New Zealand sanctions were taken against Myanmar, the fund would review its investments in the relevant companies.

New Zealand has a visa ban on members of the junta, but the Government has said it will impose sanctions only if the UN does so first, which is unlikely to happen with China holding a veto on the UN Security Council.

The fund’s investments in United States, French, Chinese, Malaysian, Thai and Japanese firms have been thrown into the spotlight by the toughest crackdown on dissent in Myanmar, formerly Burma, in two decades.

Prime Minister Helen Clark, who is travelling in Europe, is understood to have demanded a briefing on the issue.

An official told The Press the briefing, which has also been provided to the office of the minister responsible for the fund, Finance Minister Michael Cullen, stressed the guardians of the fund, a separate Crown entity, were responsible for investment decisions.

A spokesman for Cullen, who was last night due to arrive in New Zealand after a two- week visit to China, said the fund operated at “arm’s length” from the Government.

The briefing note provided to Clark said there were three firms with operations in Myanmar in which the fund had invested. They were France’s Total SA, China Petroleum and Chemical, or Sinopec, and Malaysia’s Petroliam Nasional Berhad, also known as Petronas.

But the 2006 list of investments on the fund’s website showed it had also sunk millions of dollars into another Chinese firm identified in media reports as operating in Myanmar, as well as companies from the United States, Thailand and Japan.

The fund yesterday announced its 2007 annual result, showing impressive returns on its investments of close to 15 per cent. During the year, its holdings grew from $10.1b to $13.1b. Its 2007 list of investments has yet to be posted on its website.

The 2006 list showed just over $18m invested in Total SA and nearly $13m in American giant Chevron.

California-based Unocal, owned by Chevron, is part of a consortium led by Total that taps the Yadana gas field, one of the Myanmar regime’s main sources of income.

The fund has nearly $8m in Sinopec and its offshoots, and nearly $4m in Petrochina.

Other investments included $2.7m in a Japan’s Nippon Oil Corp and $1.2m in Thailand’s PTT.

There was no record of Petronas on the 2006 investments list, indicating it may be a new investment.

The fund came under fire from Clark this year after the Green Party revealed it was putting money into nuclear weapons manufacturers and tobacco companies.