One man is defying the near-terminal downturn of Myanmar’s hotel and tourism industry since the 2021 coup. Zaw Win Shein, CEO of Ayeyar Hinthar Group and A Bank, has gone on a buying spree, snapping up five of the country’s top hotels in Bagan and Yangon.
The Thiripyitsaya Sanctuary Resort in Bagan, and The Strand, Inya Lake Hotel, Hotel G, and Park Royal in Yangon sit in prime locations.
Business insiders say the acquisitions are astonishing. While most industry insiders fear that profits may not return for at least five years, Zaw Win Shein has chosen to reinvent himself as a hotel magnate in an era of collapse.
The splurge underscores the sheer size of his wealth. Other junta cronies like Aung Ko Win, Teza, Chit Khaing, and Zaw Zaw invested in hotels when the exchange rate was below 1,000 kyat per dollar. Zaw Win Shein made his purchases when the market rate hovered around 4,000 kyat.
From rice trader to top table
Born in Hinthada, Zaw Win Shein began as a rice trader under the previous junta. His fortunes rose when he partnered with the son of then Quartermaster-General Tin Aung Myint Oo, securing lucrative export licenses to China. Soon he was expanding into construction, palm oil imports, and military supply businesses, later building ties with the family of General Wai Lwin, a trusted aide to dictator Than Shwe.
Under President Thein Sein’s quasi‑civilian administration, he aligned with “super minister” Soe Thane, winning government tenders, acquiring prime state land—including the former Yangon Military History Museum site—and launching A Bank. He also bagged the Pathein Industrial City project and strengthened ties with military intelligence.
During the National League for Democracy era, while other cronies’ influence waned, Zaw Win Shein remained well‑positioned thanks to connections with senior party figures. He won the contract to develop Phase 3 of the Shweli Hydropower Project in northern Shan State.
Entrenched
The 2021 coup marked another challenge, but Zaw Win Shein cultivated close ties with junta leaders like Moe Myint Tun, Military Intelligence Chief Ye Win Oo, and Quartermaster-General Zaw Hein. He was said to be in and out of Ye Win Oo’s home like a bluebottle, a privilege few businessmen enjoyed.
Within a year, he had made his boldest move yet: the US$ 576‑million purchase of Ooredoo Myanmar, cementing his status as the youngest crony to own both a bank and a telecom company.
This is when he turned to hotels. His first purchase after the coup was the Thiripyitsaya Sanctuary Resort in the temple city of Bagan, picturesquely located on the banks of the Irrawaddy River. He bought his latest, the Park Royal in Yangon, just weeks ago.
The three other hotels—the five-star colonial-era Strand, only recently tarted up by the Raffles group, the four-star Inya Lake Hotel, and Hotel G, previously a three-star Thamada—are all in prime locations. Together, they represent a portfolio that astonished Myanmar’s business community, given the industry’s slide into the abyss.
Insiders estimate that each property’s value exceeds US$100 million, making his acquisitions both audacious and emblematic of his ability to leverage proximity to power.
Zaw Win Shein’s trajectory illustrates the enduring logic of crony capitalism in Myanmar. While many tycoons have struggled since the coup, those with special import permits for military supplies, arms production, or defense contracts have prospered. By cultivating ties with the junta’s most powerful figures, Zaw Win Shein has not only survived but thrived.
