Kanbawza Group of Companies

The Kanbawza Group of Companies (Burmese: ကမ္ဘောဇကုမ္ပဏီအုပ်စု; abbreviated as KBZ) is a group of Myanmar-based companies across industries such as construction, garments, insurance, banking, oil, communications, cement, aviation and mining that bear the KBZ brand.[1]

Companies bearing the Kanbawza brand
Native name
ကမ္ဘောဇကုမ္ပဏီအုပ်စု
IndustryConstruction, garments, insurance, banking, oil, communications, cement, aviation and mining
Founded1994 (1994)
Headquarters
Yangon
,
Myanmar
Brands
  • Air KBZ
  • Kanbawza Bank
  • KBZ Life Insurance
  • KBZ MS General Insurance
OwnerAung Ko Win
Websitewww.kbzgroup.com.mm

Each company operates as a separate independent entity.

History

The first KBZ ventures were founded in 1988 by U Aung Ko Win in textile trading and mining. This subsequently expanded into the finance, agriculture, aviation, manufacturing, and tourism sectors.[2]

Aung Ko Win (also known as Saya Kyaung) is 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 as an independent business.[3]

In 2017, daughters Nang Lang Kham and Nang Kham Noung stepped assumed leadership positions in Kanbawza, playing an active management role as Deputy CEOs in KBZ Bank.[4]

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.[5] In response, KBZ Group's Brighter Future Foundation donated over 3.469 billion kyats (approximately US$2.48 million) to the armed forces.[5]

Companies bearing the 'Kanbawza' brand

References
  1. 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.
  2. "KBZ Group". KBZ Group. Retrieved 2020-11-02.
  3. "Burmese Tycoons Part I". The Irrawaddy. June 2000.
  4. Gluckman, Ron. "A Family Of Entrepreneurs Has Built KBZ Into a Finance Powerhouse In Myanmar". Forbes. Retrieved 2020-11-02.
  5. "Economic interests of the Myanmar military". United Nations Human Rights Council. 2019-09-16. Retrieved 2020-06-07.
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