Thai companies will be named and shamed on Burma ‘Dirty List

Share prices could be hit

As Thailand’s Prime Minister Samak Sundarevej prepares to visit Burma this week and sign a new agreement on trade and investment with Burma, the Burma Campaign UK warned that it will place Thai companies investing in Burma on its ‘Dirty List’ of companies supporting the regime in Burma.

The Burma Campaign UK publishes a ‘Dirty List’ of companies that directly or indirectly fund the regime in Burma. It is widely used by investment funds to assess the risks of investing in a company, and to judge the companies’ policies on social responsibility and ethical issues.

Dozens of companies have ended their involvement in Burma after being placed on the ‘Dirty List’, including PricewaterhouseCoopers, British American Tobacco, Swiss Re and Rolls Royce.

Trade and investment in Burma helps to keep the junta in power, paying for the half million strong army that the regime uses only for internal repression. Despite billions of dollars of investment Burma has the lowest spending on health in the world. Burma’s democracy movement has asked companies not to invest in Burma because of the role investment plays in propping up the regime.

“Last September we saw troops open fire on monks and peaceful protestors in the streets of Rangoon, and out of sight in Eastern Burma ethnic people are being slaughtered every day,” said Zoya Phan, International Coordinator of the Burma Campaign UK. “If Thai companies invest in Burma, they will be paying for the soldiers and the guns, they will have blood on their hands. To invest is not only morally wrong, but they also face damage to their reputation by being linked to a regime whose soldiers rape children and shoot monks.”

The Burma Campaign UK also warned Thai companies that their share price could be hit because foreign investment funds will be less keen to invest in companies involved in Burma. Thai companies involved in Burma could also face problems if they want to trade with Europe, the USA, or other western countries.  They could face consumer boycott campaigns, or risk breaking laws on sanctions, which are being regularly increased by the USA.

“Prime Minister Samak is not doing Thai companies any favours by signing this agreement,” said Zoya Phan. “He is also damaging the reputation of Thailand by getting closer to the brutal killers ruling Burma. When democracy comes to Burma, we will remember who our friends were.”

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