CtW Investment Group: Investors Call On Siemens To Quit the U.S. Chamber of Commerce at January 24 Annual Shareholder Meeting

Considerable Investment in Compliance At Odds With Efforts to Roll Back FCPA

WASHINGTON, Jan. 17, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Today the CtW Investment Group called on Siemens AG (NYSE:SI) to end its relationship with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in a letter to CEO Peter Loscher and Supervisory Board Chair Gerhard Cromme. Just three-years removed from its record $1.6 billion foreign bribery settlement, Siemens has invested millions to comply with the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and pledged to build multi-stakeholder alliances against corruption, while the U.S. Chamber of Commerce has engaged in an expensive campaign to undermine it. Only last month, six former Siemens executives were charged with paying more than $100 million in bribes to win business for the company. Siemens also sits on the board of the Chamber.

With Siemens' annual meeting only a week away on January 24, 2012, shareholders call on the company to sever ties with the U.S. Chamber. "Association with the Chamber and its efforts to rollback the FCPA not only runs counter to the spirit of the 2008 settlement, it needlessly antagonizes U.S. authorities and sends mixed messages to investors," said William Patterson, Executive Director of the CtW Investment Group. "It also undermines the considerable sums Siemens has invested in compliance."

The letter notes that over the past 12 months, the Chamber has embarked on an expensive and controversial campaign to curb the power of the FCPA, which critics charge would create massive loopholes that will set back decades of progress in the global struggle against corruption. Unlike in Germany, where membership in the Chamber of Commerce is compulsory, the CtW Investment Group points that membership in the U.S. Chamber is strictly voluntary and that prominent companies have left over concerns with the Chamber's extreme positions, such as its skeptical stance on climate change.

Mr. Patterson states, "It's unthinkable that the company would support a lobbying initiative that seeks to lower the bar for its competitors after investing so much and setting the benchmark for compliance," adding, "With Siemens aiming to double its U.S. federal business over the next few years, it's a mistake to flirt with the charge of duplicity, which could cost the company new business and affect share price."

The CtW Investment Group works with pension and benefit funds sponsored by unions affiliated with Change to Win, which collectively hold over $200 billion in assets. The group has previously challenged Siemens' Chamber membership, which includes a position on the board, over the conflict between the company's business model and the Chamber's efforts to defeat U.S. climate change regulation.

The letter can be found at: http://www.ctwinvestmentgroup.com/fileadmin/group_files/CtW_to_Siemens__Jan_2012_Final.pdf

SOURCE CtW Investment Group