Kanbawza Group of Companies


The Kanbawza Group of Companies is a group of Myanmar-based companies across industries such as construction, garments, insurance, banking, oil, communications, cement, aviation and mining that bear the KBZ brand.
Each company operates as a separate independent entity.

History

The first KBZ ventures were founded in 1988 by U Aung Ko Win in textile trading and mining. This subsequently expanded into the finance, agriculture, aviation, manufacturing, and tourism sectors.
Aung Ko Win is a former schoolteacher with close connections to General Maung Aye, the former second in command of the former military junta, the State Peace and Development Council. He is married to Nan Than Htwe, the niece of Win Myint, a former SPDC official. In January 2000, Kanbawza was awarded a banking license to operate Kanbawza Bank, which was first established in Taunggyi as an independent business.
In 2017, daughters Nang Lang Kham and Nang Kham Noung stepped assumed leadership positions in Kanbawza, playing an active management role as Deputy CEOs in KBZ Bank.

Controversy

In 2017, the Burmese military launched a fundraising campaign to fund "clearance operations" in northern Rakhine State, as part of the broader Rohingya conflict. In response, KBZ Group's Brighter Future Foundation donated over 3.469 billion kyats to the armed forces.