[h=1]F&N LOSES CASE AGAINST MYANMAR FIRM ON RIGHT TO KEEP STAKE IN MYANMAR BREWERY[/h]
Post date:
1 Nov 2014 - 9:27am
A military-linked conglomerate in Myanmar has won an arbitration case that will allow it to buy out its partner in Myanmar's biggest brewery.
The ruling affects a 55% stake held in Myanmar Brewery by the Singapore-based food and beverage conglomerate Fraser & Neave Ltd (F&N), which is controlled by the Thai liquor billionaire Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi.
Two Singapore arbitrators heard the case in the city-state from late June to early July and released their ruling on Friday, Reuters reported.
The ruling said that Myanma Economic Holdings Ltd (MEHL) was entitled to buy F&N's shares in Myanmar Brewery, MEHL said in a statement. It had said that F&N had defaulted on a term in the two parties' joint-venture agreement.
F&N said in a separate statement that it was reviewing the decision and all its options. It noted that the arbitrators had ruled that the $246 million MEHL offered to pay for the stake did not represent fair value.
The ruling is a blow to F&N, which first invested in the brewery 17 years ago at a time when junta-controlled Myanmar was shunned by most Western companies.
Now foreign investment is starting to pour in, with the likes of Coca-Cola, Nestle and Unilever all setting up in the country.
"We are disappointed that this dispute has arisen, at a time when Myanmar is opening its market, and is on the cusp of the introduction of international beer competitors," Huang Hong Peng, chief executive officer for beer at F&N, said in a statement.
Myanmar Brewery — which makes Myanmar Beer, Myanmar Double Strong and Andaman Gold — has an 83% share of the country's beer market, according to data from F&N.
Analysts initially saw the case as an example of the lack of legal protection for foreign investors in Myanmar and the pitfalls of doing business with an institution closely linked to the country's military.
However MEHL argued that there had been a clear default by F&N on their joint-venture agreement and that taking the matter to arbitration in Singapore showed it was dealing with the matter using proper legal channels.
"It is very important for Myanmar that foreign investors have confidence in the way we do business," Myint Aung, MEHL's deputy managing director, said in the statement.
"The conduct of this arbitration shows our commitment to the rule of law and that we will always adhere to due process."
It declined to comment on nature of the breach by F&N, but sources with knowledge of the case said it was related to the change of the shareholding structure of F&N after Mr Charoen acquired the company in 2012.
Myanmar Brewery was set up in 1995 by MEHL with Heineken through the latter's Asian arm, Asia Pacific Breweries Ltd (APB), which transferred its 55% stake to F&N in 1997.
Post date:
1 Nov 2014 - 9:27am
A military-linked conglomerate in Myanmar has won an arbitration case that will allow it to buy out its partner in Myanmar's biggest brewery.
The ruling affects a 55% stake held in Myanmar Brewery by the Singapore-based food and beverage conglomerate Fraser & Neave Ltd (F&N), which is controlled by the Thai liquor billionaire Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi.
Two Singapore arbitrators heard the case in the city-state from late June to early July and released their ruling on Friday, Reuters reported.
The ruling said that Myanma Economic Holdings Ltd (MEHL) was entitled to buy F&N's shares in Myanmar Brewery, MEHL said in a statement. It had said that F&N had defaulted on a term in the two parties' joint-venture agreement.
F&N said in a separate statement that it was reviewing the decision and all its options. It noted that the arbitrators had ruled that the $246 million MEHL offered to pay for the stake did not represent fair value.
The ruling is a blow to F&N, which first invested in the brewery 17 years ago at a time when junta-controlled Myanmar was shunned by most Western companies.
Now foreign investment is starting to pour in, with the likes of Coca-Cola, Nestle and Unilever all setting up in the country.
"We are disappointed that this dispute has arisen, at a time when Myanmar is opening its market, and is on the cusp of the introduction of international beer competitors," Huang Hong Peng, chief executive officer for beer at F&N, said in a statement.
Myanmar Brewery — which makes Myanmar Beer, Myanmar Double Strong and Andaman Gold — has an 83% share of the country's beer market, according to data from F&N.
Analysts initially saw the case as an example of the lack of legal protection for foreign investors in Myanmar and the pitfalls of doing business with an institution closely linked to the country's military.
However MEHL argued that there had been a clear default by F&N on their joint-venture agreement and that taking the matter to arbitration in Singapore showed it was dealing with the matter using proper legal channels.
"It is very important for Myanmar that foreign investors have confidence in the way we do business," Myint Aung, MEHL's deputy managing director, said in the statement.
"The conduct of this arbitration shows our commitment to the rule of law and that we will always adhere to due process."
It declined to comment on nature of the breach by F&N, but sources with knowledge of the case said it was related to the change of the shareholding structure of F&N after Mr Charoen acquired the company in 2012.
Myanmar Brewery was set up in 1995 by MEHL with Heineken through the latter's Asian arm, Asia Pacific Breweries Ltd (APB), which transferred its 55% stake to F&N in 1997.
