PepsiCo Ends Myanmar Franchise Pact

PepsiCo Inc. said it stopped selling its concentrate to its bottling franchise in Myanmar, ending its business relations with the Southeast Asian dictatorship. Shareholder groups and activists have been urging PepsiCo and other U.S. companies to withdraw from Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, which is run by a repressive regime. A host of other U.S. companies have pulled out of Burma, including Levi Strauss and Amoco Corp. A similar campaign persuaded U.S. businesses to leave South Africa in the early 1980s. PepsiCo took a partial step out of Myanmar last April, when it sold its 40% stake in its bottling joint venture with Myanmar Golden Star Co. The latest decision breaks a 10-year franchise agreement signed in 1991 with Myanmar Golden.