| Dutch ABP, PGGM say sold shares in weapons producers |
06 Apr 2007, 07:20 AM ET
AMSTERDAM, April 6 (Reuters) - Dutch pension fund ABP has divested its stakes in companies it described as land-mine producers and said it is considering selling its shares in other defence companies, such as Boeing Co. and Lockheed Martin Corp. , in response to Dutch criticis
Dutch pension fund PGGM, which had 81 billion euros ($108 billion) of assets under management at the end of 2006, last month sold stakes in producers of land mines and cluster bombs, a PGGM spokeswoman said on Friday, declining to give names of companies or figures.
ABP, which managed 209 billion euros at the end of 2006, last month sold its stakes in Textron , General Dynamics , Alliant Techsystems Inc. and Singapore Technologies Engineering , an ABP spokesman said.
ABP's divestments of the stakes amounted to several tens of millions of euros, the spokesman said.
"Our board will consider whether we should also divest stakes in companies that produce cluster bombs," the spokesman said.
In addition, the pension fund is also looking to sell investments in defence companies such as Lockheed Martin and Boeing Co, he added.
Dutch pension funds came under public and political pressure last month after Dutch TV programme ZEMBLA reported that the funds, which manage the pensions for millions of Dutch civil servants and health workers, had invested in the weapons industry.
ABP and PGGM will publish a full list of their stakes in companies next week, when they present their annual reports, in response to the criticism on their investments.
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