According to data released by Kirin in 2018, Myanmar Brewery, whose beverages include the flagship and ubiquitous Myanmar Beer brand, boasts a market share of just about 80 percent.
Kirin’s attempts to finish its relationship with MEHPCL have failed, and the Japanese beverage maker said in November it might contest a proposal to dissolve their joint brewery over concerns that the liquidation proceedings wouldn’t be fair.
On Monday, Kirin said it had taken “all measures to seek out a way that might enable it to proceed to contribute to Myanmar’s economy and society.”
This included filing an arbitration request in Singapore to finish the three way partnership and proceed operating with out a military-affiliated partner.
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“Ultimately, Kirin Holdings determined that it would be difficult to terminate the joint venture quickly in the manner it desired,” the corporate added in an announcement.
“Kirin Holdings has therefore now entered into and continues discussions with MEHPCL to exit its operations in Myanmar, giving the highest priority to dissolving the joint venture as quickly as possible.”
A junta spokesman didn’t immediately reply to a request for comment.
Faced with a slumping economy and mounting pressure from rights groups, firms from France’s TotalEnergys to British American Tobacco and Norway’s Telenor have upped the ante or announced they are going to leave.
Following the coup and the arrest of Myanmar’s democratic leaders, Kirin said he was “deeply concerned” by the military’s actions.
The brewery had been under pressure since before the coup over its ties to Myanmar’s military and, after pressure from rights groups, launched an investigation into whether money from its three way partnership was financing rights violations.
In an announcement, Justice For Myanmar spokesman Yadanar Maung welcomed Kirin’s decision to withdraw from the country, praising the corporate for “listening to the voices of the people of Myanmar and civil society in Myanmar, Japan and the world.”
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“Kirin should never have entered into business with a brutal and corrupt military conglomerate,” she added, accusing the brewery of “financing atrocities and enriching top generals.”
The activist group urged other Japanese firms doing business with the military to chop ties and urged Kirin to avoid payments to MEHPCL or the military throughout the withdrawal process.
Investors began flocking to Myanmar after the military loosened its iron grip in 2011, paving the best way for democratic reforms and economic liberalization within the country of greater than 50 million.
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Dissident children disowned by their parents in Myanmar within the face of junta threats
They pumped money into telecommunications, infrastructure, manufacturing and construction projects, however the coup upended the democratic hiatus and damaged the economy.
The pandemic and provide chain disruptions have also hit the country, with Kirin saying in an earnings report released on Monday that Myanmar’s beer market had shrunk by about 20 percent.
It said Myanmar Brewery’s sales volume was down about 30 percent in comparison with the identical period last 12 months.
