• Burmese
Tuesday, July 15, 2025
No Result
View All Result
NEWSLETTER
The Irrawaddy
19 °c
Falkenstein
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Junta Watch
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Books
  • Donation
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Junta Watch
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Books
  • Donation
No Result
View All Result
The Irrawaddy
No Result
View All Result
Home Business

Deputy Finance Minister Named New Chair of Kyaukphyu SEZ

Nan Lwin by Nan Lwin
July 14, 2018
in Business
Reading Time: 2 mins read
0 0
A A
U Set Aung speaks at the opening ceremony for the Thilawa SEZ in Thanlyin Township, Yangon Region, on Sept. 23, 2015. / Reuters

U Set Aung speaks at the opening ceremony for the Thilawa SEZ in Thanlyin Township, Yangon Region, on Sept. 23, 2015. / Reuters

8.1k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

YANGON — Deputy Planning and Finance Minister U Set Aung has been appointed chairman of the Kyaukphyu Special Economic Zone (SEZ) Management Committee amid the government’s ongoing efforts to renegotiate its agreement with the project’s Chinese developer to give Myanmar a larger stake.

The appointment took effect on May 8 and was approved by Vice President and Chairman of the Central Body of Myanmar Special Economic Zones U Henry Van Thio, according to an announcement in the government gazette on Sunday. It said the management committee’s previous chairman, U Soe Win, was now a joint chairman but did not make clear whether the two chairmen would be working as equals.

The announcement could not be found on the websites of the President’s Office or the Ministry of Information, however, where government announcements are usually posted first. But Planning and Finance Minister’s Secretary U Tun Tun Naing confirmed to The Irrawaddy that the announcement in the government gazette was correct.

RelatedPosts

Chameleon Crony: How Myanmar’s ‘Baby’ Tycoon Thrived Across Four Eras

Chameleon Crony: How Myanmar’s ‘Baby’ Tycoon Thrived Across Four Eras

June 10, 2025
5.3k
Trump-Musk Alliance Melts Down in Blazing Public Row

Trump-Musk Alliance Melts Down in Blazing Public Row

June 6, 2025
524
ASEAN Corporate Giants Fueling Myanmar Junta’s War Crimes: JFM

ASEAN Corporate Giants Fueling Myanmar Junta’s War Crimes: JFM

May 26, 2025
2.4k

U Set Aung also currently chairs the management committee of the Thilawa SEZ, Myanmar’s first, located in the southeast of Yangon Region. His latest appointment makes him chairman of the country’s two largest SEZs.

“His performance in Thilawa has been a success. As a result, he has to take responsibility for Kyaukphyu. He has already been involved in the Kyaukphyu SEZ since the government started renegotiating [the project agreement] with China,” said U Tun Tun Naing.

Located in Rakhine State, the Kyaukphyu SEZ project includes an industrial park and deep water port. China International Trust and Investment Corporation (CITIC) won the bid to develop the SEZ in 2015. The shareholders agreement struck under then-President Thein Sein gave China an 85 percent of stake in the project and Myanmar the rest.

Critics of the project have raised concerns that the deal could land Myanmar in a debt trap with China, however. The government that came to power in 2016, led by the National League for Democracy, has been in talks with CITIC to raise Myanmar’s stake to 30 percent.

Planning and Finance Minister U Soe Win recently told Nikkei Asian Review in an exclusive interview that Myanmar would try to reduce the scale of the Kyaukphyu SEZ and cut all unnecessary expenses to avoid a debt trap.

Government media reported that officials from Myanmar’s Commerce Ministry met with CITIC representatives in Naypyitaw last week and that a new agreement would be announced soon.

As chairman of the SEZ’s management committee, U Set Aung is expected to have a say in what that agreement looks like.

“He’s experienced in managing special economic zones. With his experiences, I hope we can expect a win-win solution for the Kyaukphyu project,” said U Than Lwin, a senior adviser at Kanbawza Bank and a former deputy governor of the Central Bank of Myanmar.

U Set Aung was a deputy governor of the Central Bank of Myanmar himself until July 2017. He was also a deputy minister of national planning and economic development and an economic adviser to former President Thein Sein.

He was the founder and director of the Myanmar Development Resource Institute and the secretary of the National Economic and Social Advisory Council of Myanmar.

He earned a bachelor’s degree and masters in business administration in Myanmar, a second master’s degree specializing in economics, banking and finance in Scotland, and a third master’s degree specializing in investment management in London.

Your Thoughts …
Tags: Business
Nan Lwin

Nan Lwin

The Irrawaddy

Similar Picks:

Post-Coup Myanmar is a Family Business: Min Aung Hlaing & Co
Burma

Post-Coup Myanmar is a Family Business: Min Aung Hlaing & Co

by David Aung
February 8, 2024
18k

Min Aung Hlaing is an opportunistic businessman in military uniform and his children are more mercenary than the offspring of...

Read moreDetails
KIA Seizes Myanmar Junta’s Last Remaining China Trade Route in Kachin State
War Against the Junta

KIA Seizes Myanmar Junta’s Last Remaining China Trade Route in Kachin State

by The Irrawaddy
June 14, 2024
17.1k

The military regime has also lost control of all border trade in neighboring northern Shan State.

Read moreDetails
Myanmar Junta Reportedly Set to Prosecute High-Profile Businessmen for Corruption
Junta Cronies

Myanmar Junta Reportedly Set to Prosecute High-Profile Businessmen for Corruption

by The Irrawaddy
October 18, 2023
15.9k

Regime cronies Thein Win Zaw and Mu Mu Shein are set to follow former lieutenant general Moe Myint Tun as...

Read moreDetails
Myanmar Junta’s ‘Brainless’ Response to Soaring Gold Prices Leaves Market in Disarray
Analysis

Myanmar Junta’s ‘Brainless’ Response to Soaring Gold Prices Leaves Market in Disarray

by Hein Htoo Zan
June 4, 2024
14.8k

Arrests, corruption, false receipts—the crisis in the gold and currency markets bears all the hallmarks of the junta’s inability to...

Read moreDetails
Myanmar’s Multibillion-Dollar Jade Trade ‘Crashing’ as China Clamps Down  
Business

Myanmar’s Multibillion-Dollar Jade Trade ‘Crashing’ as China Clamps Down  

by The Irrawaddy
June 5, 2024
14.3k

Crackdown on border scams and tax fraud is taking heavy toll on gems trade, say merchants.

Read moreDetails
Scam Operations Flourish in Myanmar’s Biggest City
Investigation

Scam Operations Flourish in Myanmar’s Biggest City

by The Irrawaddy
March 7, 2024
10.3k

Under the noses of junta officials, online scam syndicates freely operate in Yangon as government-registered companies, an investigation by The...

Read moreDetails
Load More
Next Post
PaO delegates attend the third 21st Century Panglong Union Peace Conference in Naypyitaw on Friday. / Myo Min Soe / The Irrawaddy

Women Playing Larger Role at This Year's Peace Conference

The Wild Boars soccer team pays tribute to the ex-Navy SEAL who lost his life in the dramatic rescue operation.

Wild Boars in Tears After Being Told of Samarn’s Death

No Result
View All Result

Recommended

Trump’s Tariffs to Hit Myanmar’s Garment Manufacturers Hard

Trump’s Tariffs to Hit Myanmar’s Garment Manufacturers Hard

6 days ago
1.3k
China’s Surveillance State Watches Everyone, Everywhere

China’s Surveillance State Watches Everyone, Everywhere

1 week ago
1.1k

Most Read

  • Myanmar Junta Launches Space Agency With Russian Help

    Myanmar Junta Launches Space Agency With Russian Help

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Myanmar Junta’s ‘Living Fence’ on Thai Border Falls to Karen Resistance

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • TNLA Invites Investment in Ruby and Mineral Towns Amid Myanmar Junta Onslaught

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • ‘Las Vegas in Laos’: the Riverside City Awash With Crime

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Indian Army Accused of Deadly Strike on Separatists in Myanmar

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0

Newsletter

Get The Irrawaddy’s latest news, analyses and opinion pieces on Myanmar in your inbox.

Subscribe here for daily updates.

Contents

  • News
  • Politics
  • War Against the Junta
  • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
  • Conflicts In Numbers
  • Junta Crony
  • Ethnic Issues
  • Asia
  • World
  • Business
  • Economy
  • Election 2020
  • Elections in History
  • Cartoons
  • Features
  • Opinion
  • Editorial
  • Commentary
  • Guest Column
  • Analysis
  • Letters
  • In Person
  • Interview
  • Profile
  • Dateline
  • Specials
  • Myanmar Diary
  • Women & Gender
  • Places in History
  • On This Day
  • From the Archive
  • Myanmar & COVID-19
  • Intelligence
  • Myanmar-China Watch
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Food
  • Fashion & Design
  • Videos
  • Photos
  • Photo Essay
  • Donation

About The Irrawaddy

Founded in 1993 by a group of Myanmar journalists living in exile in Thailand, The Irrawaddy is a leading source of reliable news, information, and analysis on Burma/Myanmar and the Southeast Asian region. From its inception, The Irrawaddy has been an independent news media group, unaffiliated with any political party, organization or government. We believe that media must be free and independent and we strive to preserve press freedom.

  • Copyright
  • Code of Ethics
  • Privacy Policy
  • Team
  • About Us
  • Careers
  • Contact
  • Burmese

© 2023 Irrawaddy Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Business
    • Economy
    • Business Roundup
  • Books
  • Donation

© 2023 Irrawaddy Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.