Kanbawza Group of Companies
The Kanbawza Group of Companies (Burmese: ကမ္ဘောဇကုမ္ပဏီအုပ်စု; abbreviated as KBZ Group) is a major Myanmar-based conglomerate, possessing 11 subsidiaries across industries such as construction, garments, insurance, banking, oil, communications, cement, aviation and mining.[1]
Native name | ကမ္ဘောဇကုမ္ပဏီအုပ်စု |
---|---|
Industry | Construction, garments, insurance, banking, oil, communications, cement, aviation and mining |
Founded | 1994 |
Headquarters | , |
Owner | Aung Ko Win |
Subsidiaries | Air KBZ Myanmar Airways International Kanbawza Bank IKBZ Insurance Company[1] |
Website | www |
History
Kanbawza Group was founded in the early 1990s by Aung Ko Win (also known as Saya Kyaung), a former schoolteacher with close connections to General Maung Aye, the former second in command of the former military junta, the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC).[1] He is married to Nan Than Htwe, the niece of Win Myint, a former SPDC official.[1] In January 2000, Kanbawza was awarded a banking license to operate Kanbawza Bank, which was first established in Taunggyi.[2]
Controversy
In 2017, the Burmese military launched a fundraising campaign to fund "clearance operations" in northern Rakhine State, as part of the broader Rohingya conflict.[3] In response, KBZ Group's Brighter Future Foundation donated over 3.469 billion kyats (approximately US$2.48 million) to the armed forces.[3]
Subsidiaries
- Air KBZ[1]
- Myanmar Airways International[1]
- Kanbawza Bank[1]
- IKBZ Insurance Company[1]
- KBZ Life Insurance [1]
References
- Aung Min; Toshihiro Kudo (2014). "Business Conglomerates in the Context of Myanmar's Economic Reform" (PDF). Myanmar's Integration with Global Economy: Outlook and Opportunities. Bangkok Research Report. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 11 July 2015.
- "Burmese Tycoons Part I". The Irrawaddy. June 2000.
- "Economic interests of the Myanmar military". United Nations Human Rights Council. 2019-09-16. Retrieved 2020-06-07.