BAT’s joint venture in Yangon London-based cigarette manufacturer British American Tobacco (BAT) will withdraw from military-ruled Myanmar before the end of this year, cease all operations in the country, and join other multinational companies such as Telenor, Kirin, Metro, VPower and other convenience brands. It withdrew in this destroyed country. According to a report issued by Reuters on October 12, the company stated that the decision was made after assessing the “long-term viability” of its Myanmar operations. “After evaluating the long-term operation and commercial viability of our business in Myanmar, we…
British American Tobacco (BAT), a London-based cigarette manufacturer, will withdraw from military-ruled Myanmar by the end of this year and cease all its operations in the country. join in Other multinational companies, such as Telenor, Kirin, Metro, VPower and some convenience brands, said they had withdrawn from this destroyed country.
According to a Reuters The company said in a report released on October 12 that the decision was made after assessing the “long-term viability” of its Myanmar business.
The report quoted a British American Tobacco spokesperson as saying: “After assessing the long-term operations and commercial viability of our business in Myanmar, we decided to withdraw from the country and cease all operations.”
In the time window between the end of half a century of military rule in 2011 and the devastating coup in February this year, British American Tobacco re-entered Myanmar in 2013. It had been active in the country before, but left in 2003 at the request of the British government due to human rights violations.
The local joint venture is said to be close to the military
On its second entry into the country, BAT formed a joint venture with the local company IMU Enterprise (a subsidiary of Sein Wut Hmon Group), and given its extensive commercial interests, the company is believed to have ties to the Myanmar military.
Established a joint venture named British American Tobacco Myanmar to produce, distribute and market the BAT brand in the domestic market of Myanmar, and produce its own “London” brand cigarettes in a country where heavy smokers are still heavy smokers, with an investment of 50 million U.S. dollars within five years and 400 employees Staff.
The chaos since the coup
However, since the coup, Myanmar has been in chaos. The country’s currency, the Kyat, has depreciated by more than 60% in September alone, pushing up food and fuel costs and making it increasingly difficult for companies to pay for imported raw materials. Material. The World Bank predicts that Myanmar’s GDP will shrink by 18% this year.
Now, foreign currency is considered to be mainly obtained by military rulers selling drugs and gems through “informal” channels.
Therefore, the response of the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, and the European Union is to impose targeted sanctions on the military and its huge network of commercial interests.
