Mandalay resident Kyaw Hein has managed to maintain a surprisingly low profile despite his key role in arms production for the Myanmar military.
Kyaw Hein is sometimes referred to as ‘Kalar’ Kyaw Hein to distinguish him from other business owners with the same name. Kalar is a word used for people of Indian origin. Kyaw Hein is also a Hindu.
Under the previous junta, the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC), Kyaw Hein and business partner Yang Ho built ordnance factories that produced ammunition for China-made weapons for the Defense Ministry, according to sources involved in the factories’ construction.
Both had close ties to Lieutenant-General Thein Htay, who served as deputy defense minister and head of the Directorate of Defense Industries (DDI), the unit of Myanmar’s military that produces ammunition and weapons, including armored vehicles and tanks.
Thein Htay was close to then military dictator Senior General Than Shwe and could reportedly have the former dictator woken when he needed to report.
After Thein Htay became head of the DDI, he stopped using the military engineering corps to construct ordnance factories and instead awarded the contracts to two businessmen close to him: Yang Ho and Kyaw Hein.
The duo subsequently established Asia Metal Company (AMC), which built factories to make ammunition for weapon systems purchased from China and North Korea.
The pair amassed huge wealth in just a few years since they could ask almost any price for the services they provided. The Myanmar military grants an unlimited budget for ordnance factories.
The US imposed sanctions on AMC in 1996 over its transactions with North Korea. Kyaw Hein formed Chan Hein Co and Yang Ho founded Mottama Trading Co to continue their businesses.
Chan Hein Co operates at least four subsidiaries with interests in manufacturing, construction, and pharmaceuticals. Kyaw Hein and his wife Mya Dayu, a senior figure in the then-junta’s affiliated Myanmar Women Entrepreneurs Association, are on the boards of directors of the four companies.
Chan Hein remained a key partner of the Myanmar military under Thein Sein’s quasi-civilian government and the current regime. Thein Sein’s administration awarded the company 11 acres of land in Mandalay just before it stepped down in 2016.
After Min Aung Hlaing became military chief in 2011, he started building his own commercial empire, with his son and daughter’s businesses replacing existing suppliers in the military supply chain.
When Thein Htay was purged after falling out with Min Aung Hlaing in 2017, Kyaw Hein managed to maintain strong ties with the military chief and dictator-to-be.
In 2015, when Min Aung Hlaing presented computers and equipment for ethnic students in Sagaing Region, Chan Hein Co joined crony businesses such as Kanbawza Co, Max Co, Htoo Foundation, IGE, Asia World, Jewelry Lucky, and Gateways Group in donating the hardware.
Three years later, Kyaw Hein was again present alongside other cronies when Min Aung Hlaing donated hospital equipment to Yangon General Hospital.
Chan Hein Co contributed another 50 million kyats when the regime donated cash to the Mandalay Region government for COVID-19 prevention in August 2021 following the February coup.
The fact that Chan Hein Co has matched contributions to Min Aung Hlaing’s donation ceremonies made by firms owned by top cronies is a testimony to its close ties with the Myanmar military.
Kyaw Hein has also forged business partnerships with Min Aung Hlaing’s sons and daughters since the coup, according to business owners familiar with the matter. He was reportedly handed a contract to develop land in Pyin Oo Lwin, seat of the junta’s military academies, after partnering with Min Aung Hlaing’s daughter, Khin Thiri Thet Mon.
He is also thought to enjoy strong ties with the Myanmar Military Intelligence leadership.
Yet despite their prominent role in feeding the junta’s war machine, Kyaw Hein and his Chan Hein Co have managed to fly under the radar since the 2021 coup.
Editor’s Note: The previous version of this story misstated the name of U Yang Hoe as U Kyaw Hoe.
