Progress Report Regarding Kirin's Operations in Myanmar

  • Other

January 7, 2021

Kirin Holdings Company, Limited

Kirin Holdings Company, Limited (President and CEO: Yoshinori Isozaki) announces today the conclusion of the independent assessment conducted by Deloitte Tohmatsu Financial Advisory LLC (“Deloitte”) of the financial and governance structures of Myanma Economic Holdings Public Company Limited (“MEHPCL”). The purpose of this assessment was to determine the destination of proceeds received by MEHPCL from the joint-venture businesses Myanmar Brewery Limited (“MBL”) and Mandalay Brewery Limited (“MDL”). Unfortunately, the assessment was inconclusive as a result of Deloitte being unable to access sufficient information required to make a definitive determination.

We have always been of the belief that we can contribute to efforts to address the social and environmental challenges that Myanmar faces through our involvement in the MBL and MDL beer businesses. At the same time, we have emphasised that it is wholly unacceptable for any proceeds from our Myanmar joint-ventures to be used for military purposes, which is the fundamental condition of the joint-venture agreement. Hence over the past year, we have initiated concrete steps to address the concerns from various stakeholders such as those in the United Nation’s Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar report on the economic interests of the Myanmar military, and we remain committed to urgently finding a solution that is consistent with our approach so far.

In the meantime, the suspension of the payment of dividends from MBL and MDL to Kirin and MEHPCL will continue to apply. As previously announced in November, this is due to the significant lack of visibility regarding the future business environment for our Myanmar joint-ventures, including the remaining issue of the destination of proceeds from MBL and MDL and the extended impact of the COVID-19 virus in Myanmar.

The Kirin Group Human Rights Policy underpins our commitment to protect human rights within our business. Kirin takes its responsibilities in Myanmar seriously and will continue to take the necessary action to ensure its business activities in the country adhere to the highest standards. A further update on our plans will be provided by the end of April 2021.

News Releases