KT Group is a family-owned business enterprise in

Myanmar Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and has ...

, with business interests in

aviation Aviation includes the activities surrounding mechanical flight and the aircraft industry. ''Aircraft'' include fixed-wing and rotary-wing types, morphable wings, wing-less lifting bodies, as well as lighter-than-air aircraft such as h ...

, real estate, container ports, and

oil and gas A fossil fuel is a flammable carbon compound- or hydrocarbon-containing material formed naturally in the Earth's crust from the buried remains of prehistoric organisms (animals, plants or microplanktons), a process that occurs within geologi ...

. KT Group is led by Jonathan Kyaw Thaung, its CEO. The Kyaw Thaung family also operates a network of 28 subsidiaries and associated businesses, including Ky Tha Group. KT Group also operates a charitable arm, KT Care, founded in 2008. KT Group has courted significant scrutiny for its close ties to the

Burmese military The Tatmadaw, also known as the Sit-Tat, is the armed forces of Myanmar (formerly Burma). It is administered by the Ministry of Defence (Myanmar), Ministry of Defence and composed of the Myanmar Army, the Myanmar Navy and the Myanmar Air For ...

. The group has partnerships with military-linked businessmen including

Aung Pyae Sone Aung Pyae Sone () is a Burmese business tycoon who owns a number of major companies, including Sky One Construction Company and Aung Myint Mo Min Insurance Company. He is also reportedly the biggest shareholder in national telecoms carrier Myt ...

, the son of

Min Aung Hlaing Min Aung Hlaing (born 3 July 1956) is a Burmese army general who has ruled Myanmar as the chairman of the State Administration Council, chairman of the State Administration Council (SAC) since seizing power in the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, Fe ...

, the country's military ruler. In 2016, KT Group leased the Yangon's TMT Ports terminal (formerly Bo Aung Kyaw terminal) from the military-owned Myanma Economic Holdings Limited under a 50-year build-operate-transfer agreement worth per year. In February 2020, Burma Campaign UK successfully pressured British companies using the port to terminate their relationship with KT Group due to military ties. In August 2021, a United Nations fact-finding mission concluded that KT Group warranted criminal investigation for donating to the military to assist it with the Rohingya clearance operations in Rakhine State. In November 2021, KT Group signalled an interest in acquiring Telenor Myanmar. In December 2021, a

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

investigation found that KT Group had been used by the Burmese military to circumvent sanctions to purchase military equipment and hardware, including the import of aircraft for the Burmese military's fleet, and a coastal radar technology system made by

Thales Thales of Miletus ( ; ; ) was an Ancient Greek philosophy, Ancient Greek Pre-Socratic philosophy, pre-Socratic Philosophy, philosopher from Miletus in Ionia, Asia Minor. Thales was one of the Seven Sages of Greece, Seven Sages, founding figure ...

, which is partially owned by the French government.

References

{{Reflist Conglomerate companies of Myanmar 1956 establishments in Burma Entities related to Myanmar sanctions