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• BAT to extinguish business in Myanmar 

Jump to full article: Agence France Presse (AFP) (fr), 2003-11-06
Author: AFP

Intro:

Cigarette giant British American Tobacco (BAT) is pulling out of Myanmar following a request by the British government to withdraw due to human rights concerns, it said on Thursday.

The announcement marks a major turnaround for BAT, which had for years resisted intense pressure from human rights activists to pull out of the country, long condemned for its human rights record.

BAT said it was selling its 60-percent stake in a cigarette factory it co-owns with the Myanmar's military government to Singapore-based Distinction Investment Holdings, which already held a small share of the venture.

However the company vigorously defended the Rothmans of Pall Mall Myanmar business, saying it was withdrawing only because the British government had asked it to do so.

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