Japanese apparel retailer Honeys Holdings Co plans to start construction of its third factory in Myanmar this month, marking a rare foreign investment in the country since a military coup.

Honeys currently sources about 44 per cent of its goods from its subsidiary and partners in Myanmar, a share that will exceed 50 per cent once the new factory is completed, company official Tomoaki Sasakawa told Reuters on Tuesday. The Nikkei newspaper earlier reported on the expansion.

Numerous foreign firms have pulled out of Myanmar since the military overthrew the democratically elected government in February 2021. Japanese drinks company Kirin Holdings announced in June it would exit the country after negotiating for more than a year with its military-linked local partner.

Honeys has total ownership and control of its subsidiary in Myanmar making it independent of the military regime, Sasakawa said.

• Reporting by Rocky Swift; Editing by Kirsten Donovan, of Reuters.