P.M. BRIEFING : Pepsi Signs Burma Agreement
BANGKOK, Thailand — Pepsi said today that it signed an agreement to operate in Burma, despite calls by dissidents and human rights groups not to invest after a military crackdown.
The agreement was signed last month with a private partner, and Pepsico International has a 35% share in the venture, said Barry Shea, company vice president for Southeast Asia.
The company will ship soft drinks to Burma and is building a $3-million factory, which should be completed by the end of the year, on the outskirts of Rangoon, the Burmese capital, he said.
Shea was unwilling to comment on the human rights issue. “Obviously we like to stay out of politics,” he said.
The military government seized power in September, 1988, by crushing a mass uprising for democracy. Hundreds of people were killed.
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