Giant South Korea steelmaker POSCO has begun reviewing how it might end a joint venture with a firm controlled by the military in Myanmar in the wake of the coup there in February, two people with first-hand knowledge of the matter told Reuters.
MEHL is among Myanmar military entities recently sanctioned by the United States and Britain. POSCO C&C has repeatedly said it hasn't paid dividends to MEHL since the 2017 Rohingya crisis drew international criticism of Myanmar's military. POSCO C&C previously said its business would not be hit by sanctions, and that it will only take action if it finds that MEHL is directly involved in the coup.The profits POSCO makes from the Myanmar steel business - about 2 billion won last year - are dwarfed by earnings from Myanmar gas projects.
Exiting steel rather than gas would also be simpler due to a more complex ownership structure in the latter venture, the sources said. NPS is the largest shareholder in POSCO, with an 11.1per cent stake worth US$2.42 billion, and the world's third-biggest pension fund overall with nearly US$1 trillion in assets.
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