Fiji Water Pulling Out of Fiji

Faced with a 45-fold tax increase levied by Fiji's military dictator, the American entrepreneurs who created and run the popular bottled water company Fiji Water announced they are leaving the Pacific island nation, reports the LA Times. Owners Lynda and Stewart Resnick decided to close their only bottling plant and lay off 400 Fijians because, according to the company's president, "The country is increasingly unstable, and is becoming a very risky place in which to invest."

Supply Chain Digital reports that the new "Water Resource Tax" affects only those companies who extract more than 3.5 million liters of natural water a month ... as luck would have it, Fiji Water is the only company who does so. Fiji Water, whose many high profile fans including President Obama, Nicole Kidman, and Justin Timberlake, says it accounts for 20% of all exports from Fiji. The only remaining issue: Where will Fiji Water get its water, if not from Fiji? The Telegraph notes that New Zealand may be a possibility. (More Fiji Water stories.)