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Article

26 Oct 2007

Author:
Amy Kazmin, Financial Times

Burma junta’s exports lose sparkle

Burma’s...rubies, jade and other gemstones...have...been a key source of foreign exchange for a cash-starved junta... [E]xecutives at Cartier [part of Richemont]..., [recently told] their cut-stone suppliers that they would not buy any more gems mined in Burma... Bulgari...has said it, too, will boycott Burmese gems. Jewelers of America...has called on Congress to close a loophole in a US ban on Burmese imports that has allowed Burmese gemstones to enter the market through third countries... Burma’s biggest western investors, Chevron and Total, have rejected calls to divest their stakes in the Yadana gas field..., saying a sellout would only transfer their assets to other, less-scrupulous investors – and could give the regime a windfall in capital gains tax revenues. However, other western businesses are re-evaluating their Burma links... Rolls-Royce decided to stop servicing aircraft engines for the state carrier Myanmar Airways... Myanmar Airways suspended some of its flights as a result, citing loss of insurance coverage. [also refers to past divestment by Tiffany, Triumph International, Timbmet]