Coca-Cola makes official return to Myanmar

Coca-Cola makes official return to Myanmar

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Volume 32, No. 631
June 18 - 24, 2012

An employee at a minimart in Yangon displays a can of Coca Cola. The company said it would make an official return to Myanmar last week after more than 60 years.
Pic: Stuart Deed

WASHINGTON – Coca-Cola announced last week that it would return to Myanmar after a gap of more than six decades.

The Coca-Cola Co becomes the latest beneficiary of reforms in the long isolated Southeast Asian nation. The company announced plans after the United States said it would ease restrictions on investment.

The Atlanta-based company said it would initially ship Coke from neighbouring countries to Myanmar but, in line with general practice, would find local partners. It said it expected to make “significant investments” in Myanmar over the next three to five years.

“Coca-Cola Co has always stood for optimism at times of change and progress around the world,” chairman and chief executive officer Muhtar Kent said in a statement.

Coca-Cola said that it would abide by ethical standards, including respecting human rights and not paying bribes.

The Coca-Cola Foundation, a charity affiliated with the company, said that it would grant US$3 million to support job initiatives that empower women in Myanmar.

Coca-Cola said that it has not done business in Myanmar for more than 60 years. The military seized control of the country in 1962.

The junta ceded power to a nominal civilian, President U Thein Sein, last year. Despite initial cynicism, U Thein Sein has undertaken reforms including freeing political prisoners, opening dialogue with ethnic minorities and launching talks with democracy icon Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, who was elected to parliament after years under house arrest.

President Barack Obama’s administration has also announced a loosening of restrictions on financial services to Myanmar, allowing credit cards to return.

But the United States, unlike several other countries, has not removed restrictions on imports from Myanmar, arguing that gems, timber and other goods provide a lucrative business for anti-reform elements. – AFP