Having A Business Relationship With The Myanmar Military, Japanese Companies Are Threatened With Losing Big Investors

Illustration. (Wikimedia Commons / Comyu)

JAKARTA - The Central Bank of Norway (Norges Bank) announced that it has entered Kirin Holdings Ltd. Co., is on a watchlist for its likely exclusion from USD 1.3 trillion in state-run investment funding.

This is because this Japanese company has links to businesses owned by the Myanmar military which carried out a coup over the government as the result of the 2020 General Election.

"Kirin recently announced its intention to end this business cooperation (with the Myanmar military), and its implementation will be followed up as part of its monitoring", the central bank said in a statement.

Kirin Holdings could not be reached for comment when contacted by Reuters.

Earlier, the Japanese beverage giant said on February 5 it would cancel a joint venture called Myanmar Brewery in which Kirin has a stake worth USD 1.7 billion after the army staged a coup that toppled the democratically elected government. However, at the end of the month, Kirin said still wanted to keep selling beer in Myanmar.

Kirin Holdings Ltd. Co. has a joint venture Myanma Economic Holdings Public Co Ltd (MEHL), in which the Myanmar military owns a stake. Kirin holds 51 percent of Myanmar Brewery and Mandalay Brewery, while MEHL holds the remainder.

To note, Norges Bank Investment Management, which manages the world's largest investment fund, owned 1.29 percent of shares in Kirin Holdings at the end of 2020 with a value of USD 277.1 million.

The Norwegian state fund, officially called the Global Government Pension Fund and founded in 1996, owns about 1.5 percent of all registered shares globally.

Holding shares in around 9,100 companies worldwide, Norges Bank Investment Management always considers its business steps related to environmental, social, and corporate governance issues. Other investors often follow their business steps.