One of Myanmar’s richest cronies, Serge Pun, is facing a backlash after a leaked video clip shows him saying he feels reassured that armed resistance groups are not fighting in Naypyitaw, and that he believes they have no plan to do so.
Serge Pun, also known as U Theim Wai, chairs the conglomerate Yoma Group, which has interests in a wide range of sectors—financial, hotels and tourism, real estate, trade, and food and beverage—through its two main units: Singapore-listed Yoma Strategic Holdings Co. Ltd. and Yangon-listed First Myanmar Investment Co. Ltd. (FMI).
Yoma Strategic Holdings is also the franchise holder for KFC in Myanmar.
The 40-second-video clip began spreading on social media on July 17. In it, Serge Pun mentions a conversation with a friend at a banquet. He explains that his friend was talking about the armed clashes breaking out across the country after the coup. Serge Pun asks him if he thinks resistance forces are planning to attack and seize Myanmar’s capital Naypyitaw.
“Then he answered me, ‘No they don’t [have that plan]! They are not interested in Naypyidaw!’ Then, I felt assured,” Serge Pun says in the video. “They will just fight in their respective regions. We will get trouble only if they all have a predilection for [attacking] Naypyidaw,” Serge Pun said.
The video clip is from a webinar Serge Pun began making with his eldest son, Melvyn Pun, in March 2020, a month after the COVID-19 pandemic hit Myanmar. Yoma Group released the first talk show—“Virtual Town Hall Session with Serge Pun / Melven Pun”—on its official YouTube channel and Facebook page but kept subsequent talk shows private.
Melvyn Pun is the CEO of Yoma Strategic Holdings.
The Irrawaddy could not determine the source of the leaked footage, but sources close to Yoma Bank and FMI said the clip was part of an internal webinar for its shareholders made after the coup.
The clip sparked renewed scorn for Serge Pun, who chairs FMI—the first company to be listed on the Yangon Stock Exchange—because the views he expresses in it are widely considered to reflect the common stance of owners of conglomerates who cooperate with the junta.
They face widespread contempt because it is believed that they want to see the regime keep control of urban areas and Naypyidaw, the capital, where their business interests are focused.
A leaked video clip is sparking a backlash against Serge Pun on social media.
Serge Pun also faced scorn in November of 2022, when the junta bestowed the title Thiri Pyanchi on him, infamous crony Zaw Win Shein, General Thiha Thura Tin Aung Myint Oo, and Russian defence minister Sergei Shoigu and ultranationalist Monk U Wirathu.
Since 1948, the title has been given to people who make outstanding contributions to the Union of Myanmar.
Yoma Group’s Yoma Land is a new brand formed to develop Star City—a 135-acre residential development project in Thanlyin Township that is part of the New Yangon City project. The development is one of the most controversial projects in Myanmar under China’s Belt and Road Initiative.
According to a statement to the Singapore Exchange in May, Yoma Strategic Holdings saw its net loss than double to US$ 32.7 million in the six months to March 31, from US$ 14.8 million at the end of the previous fiscal year.
On its website, Yoma Group says it aims to “build a better Myanmar for its people” by “leading with integrity and engaging in ethical and equitable business practices.”
