Dutch investors say stopping financing arms firms (NETHERLANDS)
AMSTERDAM , Netherlands, 10 June 2007 (Reuters News)

AMSTERDAM, June 10 (Reuters) - Dutch investors, such as bank ABN AMRO , said on Sunday they have stopped or will stop financing some weapons producers, amid Dutch criticism of this kind of investments.

The divestments follow similar actions by Dutch pension funds ABP and PGGM, which said in April they had sold shares in defence companies after public criticism of holdings in producers of land mines or cluster bombs.

ABN AMRO has stopped or will stop financing some weapons producers as the bank's investment policy does not allow these kind of investments, an ABN spokesman said.

Dutch foundation KNRM, which helps people in distress on Dutch sea territory, has sold stakes in Lockheed Martin , Textron , Alliant Techsystems and L-3 Communications , KNRM's director Roemer Boogaard said.

Boogaard said KNRM sold the stakes as the firms would be involved in the production of cluster bombs, adding that the stakes were small and that KNRM's investment in Lockheed Martin amounted to 20,000 or 30,000 euros ($26,850 or $40,270).

The ABN spokesman declined to give details about its divestments or the size but said the companies were part of a group mentioned by Dutch development organisation Oxfam Novib in a report published on Sunday.

Oxfam Novib said banks should stop financing Allied Defense Group , BAE Systems , EADS , Finmeccanica , Lockheed Martin, Rheinmetall , Saab AB , Thales and United Technologies .

Funding of these firms by Dutch banks should stop as arms or weapon parts of these companies or its subsidiaries ended up in countries for which weapon trade embargoes existed, such as China and Zimbabwe, Oxfam Novib said.

Oxfam Novib urged four Dutch banks, ABN AMRO, ING , Fortis and Rabobank [RABN.UL], to stop doing business with these companies or firms that make certain kinds of weapons, such as cluster bombs and land mines.

ING was not doing business with producers of cluster bombs or land mines, and any ING stock holdings in defence companies would be on behalf of its clients, an ING spokesman said.

Rabobank was not directly involved in financing "controversial" weapons producers, a Rabobank spokesman said. Fortis was not immediately available to comment.

DUTCH-DIVESTMENTS/WEAPONS|LANGEN|UKI|G|RBN|ABN|E|U|RNP|DNP|PGE|PCO

(c) 2007 Reuters Limited