"We have no comment... regarding their company internal affairs," the junta's information team said in a statement.

"The withdrawal of beer business is easy to substitute... people will switch to other beer."

Kirin on Monday became the latest foreign company to announce it was pulling out of Myanmar, following British American Tobacco and energy giants TotalEnergies and Chevron.

It said its decision came after months of wrangling following the February 2021 coup, which prompted the company to express concerns about human rights and eventually seek to end its involvement in Myanmar Brewery Limited.

It ran the brewery in a joint venture with Myanma Economic Holdings (MEHPCL), one of the military junta's sprawling conglomerates.

The junta statement added it had yet to receive any submission by Kirin regarding the sale or transfer of shares in the joint partnership.

Myanmar Brewery, whose beverages include its flagship and ubiquitous Myanmar Beer brand, boasted a market share of nearly 80 percent, according to figures published by Kirin in 2018.

Human rights groups have pressed foreign companies to rethink their activities in Myanmar following the February 2021 coup and a subsequent crackdown which, according to local monitoring groups, has left more than 1,500 people dead.