Corporations in Burma
Companies Operating in Myanmar Profit at the Expense of the People
Mar 22, 2009
While some companies operating in Burma try to justify their involvement in the country by claiming that pulling out would only harm ordinary Burmese people, most pro-democracy Burmese groups support targeted sanctions. Even Nobel laureate and imprisoned pro-Democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi disputes the harm that sanctions cause for the average Burmese person. Targeted sanctions have a role to play because they send a strong political message, as well as an economic one. The Burma Campaign UK publishes The Dirty List, which is a list of all the known companies operating in Burma.
Foreign Companies and Government Profit at Expense of People
To claim that investment in Burma will help the people there is a blatant lie from companies that wish to downplay the role they are playing in supporting the dictatorial regime. Foreign companies can profit greatly from the extremely low pay given to workers, as well as the fact that unions are banned in the workplace and there are only limited health and safety laws in the country, which are rarely enforced. The minimum working age in Burma is just 13 years old, according to the Burma Campaign UK.
Travel Guides and Tourist Companies
Companies that organize tourist holidays in the country are no different. The regime has admitted that it receives at least 12 per cent of everything private tourists spend in the country, and they earn substantially more if tourists stay in regime-owned hotels. Travel book company Lonely Planet defends its guide to travel on Burma, despite not identifying in the guide what hotels are regime-owned or which tourist facilities were built with forced labour. Fodors, owned by Random House, is another travel guide that tries to legitimize travel to the country, along with many others. Tourism is a vital source of revenue for the regime.
Chevron
Since taking over for Unocal in 2005, Chevron has allowed the regime to earn millions of dollars through its joint-venture off-shore gas field. Chevron also owns Texaco.
Daewoo
This conglomerate operates a car assembly plant in Burma and also has gas, timber and other natural resource projects in the country.
Lloyds of London
This insurance company refuses to advise its syndicate companies to discontinue the sale of insurance to the regime and regime-owned operations.
Mitsubishi
This Japanese general trading company has an office in Rangoon and is involved in the sale of numerous commodities from Burma, such as petroleum, steel and textile products.
Siemens
A German engineering and technology company operating worldwide, Siemens is supplying gas turbines to Total for a new platform in the Yadana gas field.
SuzukiSuzuki invested millions into a project with the regime-owned Myanmar Automobile and Diesel Engine Industries (MADI).
TotalThis company is in a joint-venture with the military regime to develop an offshore gas field in the Andaman Sea. Total is the biggest foreign investor in Burma and gas exports are the regime's largest source of income.
ToyotaOne of Toyota's subsidiaries also has a joint-venture with MADI and Suzuki, which produces vehicles used by the Burmese military.
There are dozens more companies that operate in the country and help to financially support the military regime by working in partnership with the illegitimate government. For a full listing of the Burma Campaign UK's Dirty List, please see the link below.
Additional Resources
The Dirty List from the Burma Campaign UK
Child Soldiers Still Used in Burma
Business and Human Rights Resource Centre
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