Coca-Cola to do business in Myanmar
Bottles of Coca-Cola at a grocery store in Chicago, Ill.
The Coca-Cola Co. has announced that it will start selling its drinks in Myanmar as soon as the US government allows companies to invest in the Southeast Asian country, Reuters reported. The world’s largest beverage company hasn’t sold its products in Myanmar in more than 60 years.
Last month, the US said it would ease restrictions on American investments in Myanmar, the Associated Press reported. The US government is expected to start licensing US business activity there soon, Reuters reported.
More from GlobalPost: US to ease economic restrictions on Myanmar
"The Coca-Cola Company has always stood for optimism at times of change and progress around the world," Coca-Cola Chairman and CEO Muhtar Kent said in a statement. "From the fall of the Berlin Wall to the establishment of normal US relations with Vietnam to the positive changes we are seeing today in Myanmar, Coca-Cola has proudly been there to refresh, invest, partner and bring hope for a better tomorrow."
Currently, Myanmar is one of only three countries in the world in which Coca-Cola does not operate, Reuters reported. North Korea and Cuba are the other two.
Coca-Cola also announced it will donate $3 million and partner with PACT, a nongovernmental organization, to support job creation for Burmese women, the AP reported.
More from GlobalPost: First US business back in Burma? General Electric
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