Irrawaddy-July 26
Singapore-listed Fraser and Neave Limited (F&N) plans to invest 19.2 million Singaporean dollars (US$ 14 million) in Myanmar to build a new brewery through a joint venture with local beverage conglomerate Win Brothers, according to a statement from F&N. F&N said it had paid S$ 1.3 million to acquire its brewing license, but the process of acquiring the land had yet to be completed. “Completion of the Land Acquisition is subject to fulfilment of conditions under the Acquisition Agreement, including the obtainment of relevant regulatory approvals, conversion of the relevant land into industrial land and entry into long-term leases in respect of the relevant land. Accordingly, there is no certainty or assurance that the Land Acquisition will materialize,” it said. F&N established a joint venture, Sapphire Brewery Myanmar Limited (SBML), with Win Brothers in March. F&N holds an 80 percent stake in SBML and Win Brothers, which is owned by U Zaw Win, owns the rest. SBML has been evaluating the feasibility of producing alcohol in Myanmar since its establishment, F&N said in a report filed at the Singapore Stock Exchange. Advocacy group Justice For Myanmar estimates that the Myanmar operations of the three companies could be paying as much as 250 billion kyats (US$ 155 million) in tax to the junta for a full year. Read more at: https://www.irrawaddy.com/business/thai-beer-titan-to-invest-us14m-in-another-brewery-in-myanmar.html
