Interra says oil contract with Myanmar was signed prior to junta seizing power
The statement was in response to a query by the Singapore Exchange a week after activist group Justice for Myanmar alleged in a report, opens new tab that Interra had "helped supply the junta" with over two million barrels of oil and "fuelled its ongoing war crimes".
"The current IPRCs (improved petroleum recovery contracts) were obtained and extended under the civilian government and prior to the military coup in 2021," Interra said.
Interra requested a trading suspension for its shares before Thursday's market opening, and is seeking legal counsel about its compliance with foreign laws. It will request the suspension be lifted once it gets clarity over its compliance, it said.
Myanmar has been in turmoil since early 2021 when its military overthrew the elected civilian government of Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, triggering pro-democracy protests that morphed into a widening armed rebellion that has taken over swathes of the country.
Interra holds a participating interest of about 60% in Goldpetrol Joint Operating Company (GJOC), according to its website. GJOC operates two of the onshore producing oil fields in Chauk and Yenangyaung in central Myanmar.
GJOC secured the production-sharing contract for oil exploration and production with Myanma Oil and Gas Enterprise (MOGE), Myanmar's state oil and gas enterprise, in late 1996, which was then extended for 11 years in April 2017.
GJOC continues to operate in the Southeast Asian nation under the terms of the IPRCs, which have remained unchanged since the coup in 2021, Interra said.
"The company has no control over or power to dictate how the MOGE distributes or uses the oil that is produced by GJOC," the company said, calling the activist group's claims "sensationalisation".
"The report therefore contains untrue allegations that GJOC is 'favouring the junta,' 'has long enjoyed a close relationship with the Myanmar military' or that GJOC signed the contracts with the 'previous military junta'," it said.
MOGE was sanctioned by the United States and the European Union, opens new tab after the coup.
here.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
13 hours ago
- Daily Mail
TEMPLETON EMERGING MARKETS TRUST: Teamwork helps master emerging markets
TEMIT, the country's oldest emerging markets investment trust, is in fine form. Although its manager says there are 'negatives' out there on the horizon, he sees no reason why the asset class can't deliver long-term annual returns in the high single-digits. Acronym TEMIT stands for Templeton Emerging Markets Trust, a fund launched in 1979 with Mark Mobius (aka 'Mr Emerging Markets') at the helm. Today, the £1.9 billion UK-listed fund is run by Chetan Sehgal out of Singapore and Andrew Ness, from Edinburgh. 'We're a team,' says Sehgal, in London for the trust's annual general meeting. 'Every investment idea for the trust is discussed.' The pair are supported by analysts across the globe – from China and India in Asia to Dubai in the Middle East and Argentina in South America. The performance numbers are good. When measured against similar trusts investing in emerging markets across the world, it is best in class over the past one and three years. So over the past year a 19 per cent return compares to the respective 15 and 9.9 per cent gains registered by Fidelity Emerging Markets and JPMorgan Emerging Markets. Over three years, the respective gains are 41.8, 35.4 and 14.5 per cent. Over the past five years, its 36.4 per cent return is beaten by both Utilico Emerging Markets and Mobius Investment Trust (also set up by Mark Mobius). Sehgal says the emerging markets investment story remains powerful, fuelled by the 'sustainable earnings power' of many leading companies. He also believes the improvement in corporate governance has been a positive. The trust's portfolio, comprising 87 stocks, has some corporate names among its biggest positions. They include Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), its largest holding at just under 13 per cent. Also, Indian banks ICICI and HDFC. Sehgal describes TSMC as having 'tremendous' earnings growth potential while he says banking (in countries such as India and also Brazil) is a powerful 'penetration story' on the back of growing urbanisation and the need for consumers to have a bank account. Another key holding, thriving on the back of India's expanding urbanisation, is food delivery company Eternal, owner of the popular app Zomato. 'India doesn't have a convenience store network,' says Sehgal. 'So Eternal has done really well in the big cities where everyone wants something in a jiffy – whether it's flowers delivered to a loved one, a gold coin gift on a festival day or just a need for some essential groceries.' Tariffs on exports to the US remain an issue for emerging markets – as do geopolitical issues, especially between Taiwan and China. 'It's a big headwind,' says Sehgal of the ongoing tension between neighbours separated by the Taiwan Strait. 'But there is no guarantee that it will end in military conflict – the current status quo is a possible solution.' He says many Taiwanese companies, including TSMC, are also responding by setting up manufacturing operations elsewhere in the world. Although the trust invests in Chinese companies – top-ten holdings include tech giants Alibaba and Tencent – Sehgal says that it will remain underweight for the time being. The fund's stock market code is BKPG0S0 and ticker TEM. Total annual charges are reasonable at 0.96 per cent and the trust pays a dividend equivalent to an annual yield of 2.7 per cent.
Scottish Sun
14 hours ago
- Scottish Sun
Inside ex-Celtic and Scotland star's £3m property empire as free agent spends almost £1m on two properties in St Andrews
He set up his real estate firm several years ago STRONG MOVE Inside ex-Celtic and Scotland star's £3m property empire as free agent spends almost £1m on two properties in St Andrews Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) FOOTIE ace Stuart Armstrong has built a multi-million pound property empire, records show. The Scotland international owns homes in Aberdeen, Glasgow, and Edinburgh. Sign up for the Celtic newsletter Sign up 1 Stuart Armstrong, Scotland Credit: Willie Vass He also spent almost £1million on two properties at the home of golf in St Andrews. Most were bought during the ex-Celtic midfielder's five-season stint at then-Premier League side Southampton. Documents reveal that Armstrong, 33, set up his Glasgow-listed real estate firm back in 2017. It now has investment properties worth £3,439,204 in total. A source said: 'Stuart has had a glittering career that has seen him spend years in the top flight of English football. 'But he has maintained links to his homeland, despite a move that has seen him play elsewhere for the last seven years. He appears to have invested his earnings very wisely.' Accounts show Armstrong bought a flat in Aberdeen's West End for £126,000 in 2018. The same year he paid £415,00 for a place in Edinburgh's Newington area. He also bought a flat in the capital's affluent Marchmont for an unknown sum. Three homes in Glasgow's West End were snapped up for £560,000, £263,000 and £186,000 between 2018 and 2023. One in St Andrews cost £596,000. The second, bought in September 2023, was £373,000. Scotland No2 John Carver on the REAL Steve Clarke, Euros disappointment, THAT Ronaldo tantrum & Souness bust-up Both are in the Fife town's historic South Street. Armstrong previously set up another real estate firm with fellow Scotland international Ryan Christie, 30, and former Southampton buddy Jannik Vestergaard, 32. It was dissolved in June 2023. Keep up to date with ALL the latest news and transfers at the Scottish Sun football page
The Independent
a day ago
- The Independent
Myanmar's military leader puts in rare appearance at event honoring Aung San Suu Kyi's father
The head of Myanmar's military government made a rare appearance at a ceremony on Saturday honoring General Aung San, an independence hero and father of jailed former leader Aung San Suu Kyi. It was the first time that 69-year-old Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing attended the Martyrs' Day wreath-laying since the army ousted Suu Kyi and seized power in February 2021. The leader's appearance comes as his embattled government is preparing to hold elections while fighting armed opposition groups across the country. Martyrs' Day was an important event in Myanmar's calendar for decades, but the military has downplayed the holiday in recent years. It commemorates the assassination of Aung San, a former Prime Minister who was gunned down at the age of 32 along with six Cabinet colleagues and two other officials in 1947, just months before the country — then called Burma — achieved freedom from British colonial rule. A political rival, former Prime Minister U Saw, was tried and hanged for plotting the attack. Suu Kyi was absent from the ceremony for a fifth year Suu Kyi, who was detained when the army took over in 2021, was absent from the event for a fifth consecutive year. She is currently serving a 27-year prison term on what are widely regarded as contrived charges meant to keep her from political activity. She has not been seen in public since her arrest. Ye Aung Than, a son of Suu Kyi's estranged older brother, laid a wreath in front of his grandfather's tomb during the main ceremony at the Martyrs' Mausoleum near the foot of the towering Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon. With Myanmar national flags flying at half-staff, members of the ruling military council, and cabinet, as well as high-ranking military generals joined Min Aung Hlaing in placing a basket of flowers in front of the tombs of the nine martyrs. As the ceremony was held, people in Yangon paid tribute to independence leaders by blaring car horns and sirens at 10:37 a.m., the time of the 1947 attack. Democracy supporters also held scattered rallies in parts of the country that are not under military control. The military government is planning elections later this year The event comes five months before elections that the military has promised to hold by the end of this year. The poll is widely seen as an attempt to legitimize the military's seizure of power through the ballot box and is expected to deliver a result that ensures the generals retain control. The 2021 military takeover was met with widespread nonviolent protests, but after peaceful demonstrations were put down with lethal force, many opponents of military rule took up arms, and large parts of the country are now embroiled in conflict. Since the army took power, 6,974 people including poets, activists, politicians and others have been killed, and 29,405 people have been arrested by the security forces, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, an independent organization that keeps detailed tallies of arrests and casualties linked to the nation's political conflicts. The military government calls that figure an exaggeration. The military, which is now estimated to control less than half the country, has been accelerating its counter-offensives to retake areas controlled by opposition groups ahead of the election.
