Htoo Group of Companies
Encyclopedia
The Htoo Group of Companies (HGC) is a Burmese holding company
, with headquarters at 5 Pyay Road, Hlaing Township
, Yangon
, Myanmar
. HGC is the parent company of Air Bagan
, a privately held Burmese airline company. The company has several subsidiaries. Htoo Wood Products Company Ltd. is engaged in logging
and export of timber
(especially teak
). Htoo Trading Company, is engaged in construction, property development, agriculture, transportation, shipping, mining, hotels and tourism operations. Htoo Trading Company and Asia World Company were the first two construction companies granted contracts to build the new national capital in Naypyidaw
. Htoo Trading Company is Burma's top private exporter and fifth largest overall, with gross revenues of $65.1 million.
by Ne Win
's Burma Socialist Programme Party
in 1962, Htoo Company was dissolved. However, its rice mills and saw mills continued to operate as a family business.
Htoo Trading Company was established in 1990, soon after the 1988 coup d'état led by General Saw Maung
. At that time, the company was engaged in logging and timber exports in addition to its core rice milling and saw milling business. The company gradually gained access to large areas of virgin forest. Htoo Trading Company was later reorganized into the Htoo Group of Companies (HGC) as a result of diversification into other business sectors, reinvestment and expansion.
(OFAC) of the United States Department of the Treasury
imposed financial sanctions against Tay Za, his wife Thidar Zaw, his eldest son Pye Phyo Za, and five of the companies controlled by Tay Za, including Htoo Trading Company and Air Bagan. The sanctions were instituted in response to protests against the junta on the streets of many cities in Burma in September 2007.
On 5 February 2008, those sanctions were expanded to include some of Tay Za's partners, including Aung Thet Mann, Thiha and U Kyaw Thein, as well as HGC itself. Also named in the new sanctions order were Khin Lay Thet, wife of General Thura Shwe Mann, Myint Myint Ko, wife of Construction Minister Mon Saw Tun, Tin Lin Myint, wife of Lieutenant General
Ye Myint, the head of Military Affairs Security, and Myint Myint Soe, wife of Minister of Foreign Affairs Nyan Win
.
The sanctions were expanded pursuant to Executive Order 13448, which authorizes the United States Secretary of the Treasury
to designate senior regime officials, human rights violators in Burma, persons engaged in public corruption in Burma, financial and material supporters of the Government of Burma, and spouses and dependent children of previously designated individuals. The designation freezes any assets the designees may have subject to U.S. jurisdiction, and prohibits all financial and commercial transactions by any U.S. person with the designated companies and individuals.
The business being related to the government of Myanmar, since 2008 it is also subject to European Union
sanctions which include seizing corporate and personal assets.
In November 2008, Mann visited North Korea
to reportedly purchase sophisticated weapons and armament for Myanmar's armed forces.
Holding company
A holding company is a company or firm that owns other companies' outstanding stock. It usually refers to a company which does not produce goods or services itself; rather, its purpose is to own shares of other companies. Holding companies allow the reduction of risk for the owners and can allow...
, with headquarters at 5 Pyay Road, Hlaing Township
Hlaing Township
Hlaing Township is an area of Yangon, Myanmar. The township comprises 16 wards and shares borders with Mayangon township and Thamaing Creek in the north, Mayangon township and Inya Lake in the east, Kamayut township in the south and Hlaingthaya township in the west. In 2000, the township's...
, Yangon
Yangon
Yangon is a former capital of Burma and the capital of Yangon Region . Although the military government has officially relocated the capital to Naypyidaw since March 2006, Yangon, with a population of over four million, continues to be the country's largest city and the most important commercial...
, Myanmar
Myanmar
Burma , officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar , is a country in Southeast Asia. Burma is bordered by China on the northeast, Laos on the east, Thailand on the southeast, Bangladesh on the west, India on the northwest, the Bay of Bengal to the southwest, and the Andaman Sea on the south....
. HGC is the parent company of Air Bagan
Air Bagan
Air Bagan Limited , operating as Air Bagan, is an airline headquartered in Bahan Township, Yangon, Myanmar. It operates domestic scheduled services to 15 towns and cities, as well as to Thailand. Its main bases are Yangon International Airport and Mandalay Chanmyathazi Airport.- History :The...
, a privately held Burmese airline company. The company has several subsidiaries. Htoo Wood Products Company Ltd. is engaged in logging
Logging
Logging is the cutting, skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or logs onto trucks.In forestry, the term logging is sometimes used in a narrow sense concerning the logistics of moving wood from the stump to somewhere outside the forest, usually a sawmill or a lumber yard...
and export of timber
Lumber
Lumber or timber is wood in any of its stages from felling through readiness for use as structural material for construction, or wood pulp for paper production....
(especially teak
Teak
Teak is the common name for the tropical hardwood tree species Tectona grandis and its wood products. Tectona grandis is native to south and southeast Asia, mainly India, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Burma, but is naturalized and cultivated in many countries, including those in Africa and the...
). Htoo Trading Company, is engaged in construction, property development, agriculture, transportation, shipping, mining, hotels and tourism operations. Htoo Trading Company and Asia World Company were the first two construction companies granted contracts to build the new national capital in Naypyidaw
Naypyidaw
Naypyidaw is the capital city of Burma, also known as Myanmar. It is administered as the Naypyidaw Union Territory, as per the 2008 Constitution. On 6 November 2005, the administrative capital of Myanmar was officially moved to a greenfield 3.2 km west of Pyinmana, and approximately...
. Htoo Trading Company is Burma's top private exporter and fifth largest overall, with gross revenues of $65.1 million.
History
The forerunner of HGC was Htoo Company, established in 1958. After the coup d'étatCoup d'état
A coup d'état state, literally: strike/blow of state)—also known as a coup, putsch, and overthrow—is the sudden, extrajudicial deposition of a government, usually by a small group of the existing state establishment—typically the military—to replace the deposed government with another body; either...
by Ne Win
Ne Win
Ne Win was Burmese a politician and military commander. He was Prime Minister of Burma from 1958 to 1960 and 1962 to 1974 and also head of state from 1962 to 1981...
's Burma Socialist Programme Party
Burma Socialist Programme Party
Burma Socialist Programme Party was formed by the Ne Win's military regime that seized power in 1962 and was the sole political party allowed to exist legally in Burma during the period of military rule from 1964 until its demise in the aftermath of the popular uprising of 1988.-History:The BSPP...
in 1962, Htoo Company was dissolved. However, its rice mills and saw mills continued to operate as a family business.
Htoo Trading Company was established in 1990, soon after the 1988 coup d'état led by General Saw Maung
Saw Maung
Senior General Saw Maung was the founder of the State Peace and Development Council in Myanmar. He served as their Chairman from 1988 to 1992.-Early life and career:...
. At that time, the company was engaged in logging and timber exports in addition to its core rice milling and saw milling business. The company gradually gained access to large areas of virgin forest. Htoo Trading Company was later reorganized into the Htoo Group of Companies (HGC) as a result of diversification into other business sectors, reinvestment and expansion.
Leadership
- Tay ZaTay ZaTay Za is a Burmese business tycoon, and a close associate of the former country's Head of State, Than Shwe.According to one source, he was born in 1964 at YGN. His father was an ex-Lt Col. He was the youngest of total 6 siblings. He passed 10th standard at TTC of Yangon in 1982. He was one of...
(born 1967) is Chief executive officerChief executive officerA chief executive officer , managing director , Executive Director for non-profit organizations, or chief executive is the highest-ranking corporate officer or administrator in charge of total management of an organization...
and managing director of HGC. He became involved in the family business in GyobingaukGyobingaukGyobingauk is a small town and seat of Gyobingauk Township, Tharrawaddy District, in the Bago Region of southern-central Burma. It lies approximately 10 kilometres north of Okpho along National Highway 2.It is located roughly 185 kilometres north of Yangon. The town has a Roman Catholic history...
, a few miles south of PyayPyayPyay is a town in the Bago Division in Burma. It has an estimated population of 123,800 . Pyay is positioned on the Ayeyarwady River and is northwest of Yangon....
in 1984. He is a close associate of General Than ShweThan ShweSenior General Than Shwe is a Burmese military leader and politician who was chairman of the State Peace and Development Council from 1992 to 2011. During the period, he held key positions of power including commander-in-chief of the Myanmar Armed Forces and head of Union Solidarity and...
, chairman of the State Peace and Development CouncilState Peace and Development CouncilThe State Peace and Development Council was the official name of the military regime of Burma , which seized power in 1988. On 30 March 2011, Senior General Than Shwe signed a decree to officially dissolve the Council....
(SPDC) and Commander-in-ChiefCommander-in-ChiefA commander-in-chief is the commander of a nation's military forces or significant element of those forces. In the latter case, the force element may be defined as those forces within a particular region or those forces which are associated by function. As a practical term it refers to the military...
of the Myanmar Armed Forces. Tay Za is also quite close to General Thura Shwe MannShwe MannThura Shwe Mann is joint chief of staff of the Burmese Armed Forces, and was the third-highest ranking member of the State Peace and Development Council, after Than Shwe and Maung Aye. He graduated in 1969 from the Defence Services Academy, Intake 11. He was promoted to major in 1988...
, who he has known since the general was regional commander in the Irrawaddy delta. General Shwe Mann is Chief of StaffChief of StaffThe title, chief of staff, identifies the leader of a complex organization, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a Principal Staff Officer , who is the coordinator of the supporting staff or a primary aide to an important individual, such as a president.In general, a chief of...
of the Myanmar Armed Forces and the third-highest ranking member of the SPDC, after Than Shwe and Maung AyeMaung AyeVice-Senior General Maung Aye is the former Vice Chairman of the State Peace and Development Council , which was until March 2011, the ruling military junta of Burma. Maung Aye was the second highest-ranking member of the SPDC....
(vice-chairman of the SPDC and Deputy Commander in Chief of the Myanmar Armed Forces). Tay Za consolidated his relationship with the junta by creating Myanmar Avia Export, Burma’s sole representative of Russia’s Export Military Industrial Group, (MAPO), and of the Russian helicopter company Rostvertol. Tay Za was instrumental in the junta’s purchase of ten MiG-29Mikoyan MiG-29The Mikoyan MiG-29 is a fourth-generation jet fighter aircraft designed in the Soviet Union for an air superiority role. Developed in the 1970s by the Mikoyan design bureau, it entered service with the Soviet Air Force in 1983, and remains in use by the Russian Air Force as well as in many other...
fighter aircraft for US$130 million.
- Tay Za's elder brother Thiha (born 1960) is also a director of HGC and Htoo Trading Co Ltd.
- Aung Thet Mann (born 1977, son of General Thura Shwe MannShwe MannThura Shwe Mann is joint chief of staff of the Burmese Armed Forces, and was the third-highest ranking member of the State Peace and Development Council, after Than Shwe and Maung Aye. He graduated in 1969 from the Defence Services Academy, Intake 11. He was promoted to major in 1988...
) serves on the board of HGC. He is also director of two of its subsidiary companies, Ayer Shwe Wah Company Ltd. and Htoo Trading Company Ltd and the co-owner of Red Link CommunicationsRed Link CommunicationsRed Link Communications Co. Ltd. is a private company headquartered in Yangon, Myanmar. It provides WiMAX broadband internet and other intertet and telecommunications services...
.
- Kyaw Thein (born 1947) manages Tay Za's business offices in Singapore. He currently serves as a director for Air Bagan Holdings Company Ltd, Htoo Wood Products Company Ltd, Pavo Aircraft Leasing Co Ltd and Pavo Trading Co Ltd.
Subsidiaries
Subsidiaries of HGC include:- Aureum Palace Hotels & Resorts
- Air BaganAir BaganAir Bagan Limited , operating as Air Bagan, is an airline headquartered in Bahan Township, Yangon, Myanmar. It operates domestic scheduled services to 15 towns and cities, as well as to Thailand. Its main bases are Yangon International Airport and Mandalay Chanmyathazi Airport.- History :The...
Holdings Company Ltd. - Ayer Shwe Wah Company Ltd.: involved in construction, palm oilPalm oilPalm oil, coconut oil and palm kernel oil are edible plant oils derived from the fruits of palm trees. Palm oil is extracted from the pulp of the fruit of the oil palm Elaeis guineensis; palm kernel oil is derived from the kernel of the oil palm and coconut oil is derived from the kernel of the...
production, import and export of chemical fertilizers and agricultural products. - Htoo Trading Company
- Htoo Wood Products Company Ltd.
- Myanmar Avia Export Company Ltd.: exclusive representative in Burma for Russia’s Export Military Industrial Group (MAPO), and the Russian helicopter company Rostvertol; supplies the Burmese military with spare parts for its aircraft.
- Myanmar Treasure Resorts
- Pavo Aircraft Leasing Company Ltd.
- Pavo Trading Company Ltd.
Sanctions
On October 18, 2007, the Office of Foreign Assets ControlOffice of Foreign Assets Control
The Office of Foreign Assets Control is an agency of the United States Department of the Treasury under the auspices of the Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence. OFAC administers and enforces economic and trade sanctions based on U.S...
(OFAC) of the United States Department of the Treasury
United States Department of the Treasury
The Department of the Treasury is an executive department and the treasury of the United States federal government. It was established by an Act of Congress in 1789 to manage government revenue...
imposed financial sanctions against Tay Za, his wife Thidar Zaw, his eldest son Pye Phyo Za, and five of the companies controlled by Tay Za, including Htoo Trading Company and Air Bagan. The sanctions were instituted in response to protests against the junta on the streets of many cities in Burma in September 2007.
On 5 February 2008, those sanctions were expanded to include some of Tay Za's partners, including Aung Thet Mann, Thiha and U Kyaw Thein, as well as HGC itself. Also named in the new sanctions order were Khin Lay Thet, wife of General Thura Shwe Mann, Myint Myint Ko, wife of Construction Minister Mon Saw Tun, Tin Lin Myint, wife of Lieutenant General
Lieutenant General
Lieutenant General is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages where the title of Lieutenant General was held by the second in command on the battlefield, who was normally subordinate to a Captain General....
Ye Myint, the head of Military Affairs Security, and Myint Myint Soe, wife of Minister of Foreign Affairs Nyan Win
Nyan Win
Nyan Win is the Chief Minister of Bago Region. He won a Regional Hluttaw seat in an uncontested election in 2010, representing Zigon Township, and was appointed Chief Minister of the region on 30 March 2011. Prior to his election, he was the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Myanmar, having been...
.
The sanctions were expanded pursuant to Executive Order 13448, which authorizes the United States Secretary of the Treasury
United States Secretary of the Treasury
The Secretary of the Treasury of the United States is the head of the United States Department of the Treasury, which is concerned with financial and monetary matters, and, until 2003, also with some issues of national security and defense. This position in the Federal Government of the United...
to designate senior regime officials, human rights violators in Burma, persons engaged in public corruption in Burma, financial and material supporters of the Government of Burma, and spouses and dependent children of previously designated individuals. The designation freezes any assets the designees may have subject to U.S. jurisdiction, and prohibits all financial and commercial transactions by any U.S. person with the designated companies and individuals.
The business being related to the government of Myanmar, since 2008 it is also subject to European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
sanctions which include seizing corporate and personal assets.
In November 2008, Mann visited North Korea
North Korea
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea , , is a country in East Asia, occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Pyongyang. The Korean Demilitarized Zone serves as the buffer zone between North Korea and South Korea...
to reportedly purchase sophisticated weapons and armament for Myanmar's armed forces.