H.E. Dr. Khin Shwe (; born 21 January 1952) Burmese business tycoon who developed the company from a SME Construction company into one of the leading local property company and positioned Zaykabar Company Limited as holding company for many of its subsidiaries which involves Property Development, Hotel & Tourism, Banking & Investment, Industrial, Road Development, Trading, Media and Technology sectors. He served as a Member of parliament in the House of Nationalities for Yangon Region № 9 constituency from 2011 to 2016 and was later expelled from the USDP as he was close to

Aung San Suu Kyi Aung San Suu Kyi (born 19 June 1945) is a Burmese politician, diplomat, author, and political activist. She was awarded the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize. She served as State Counsellor of Myanmar and Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Myanmar), Ministe ...

. He is the chairman of Zaykabar Construction, one of the country's largest construction companies. He also serves as chairman for the National Development Group of Companies, Myanmar Tourism Board and the Myanmar Construction Entrepreneurs Association.

Early life and education

Khin Shwe was born in

Moulmein Mawlamyine (also spelled Mawlamyaing; , ; ; , ), formerly Moulmein, is the fourth-largest city in Myanmar (Burma), ''World Gazetteer'' southeast of Yangon and south of Thaton, at the mouth of Thanlwin (Salween) River. Mawlamyine was an ancien ...

(now Mawlamyaing),

Burma 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 ha ...

to ethnic

Mon Mon, MON or Mon. may refer to: Places * Mon State, a subdivision of Myanmar * Mon, India, a town in Nagaland * Mon district, Nagaland * Mon, Raebareli, a village in Uttar Pradesh, India * Mon, Switzerland, a village in the Canton of Grisons * A ...

- Burmese parents, Saw Nyunt and Daw Daung. He attended a technical high school in

Maymyo Pyin Oo Lwin or Pyin U Lwin (, ; Shan: , ''Weng Pang U''), formerly and colloquially referred to as Maymyo (), is a scenic hill town in the Mandalay Region, Myanmar, some east of Mandalay, and at an elevation of . The town was estimated to have ...

and worked for the Burmese government until 1988, as a construction and survey engineer. Khin Shwe claims to hold two honorary doctorate degrees in business administration. However, both are from unaccredited for-profit

diploma mill A diploma mill or degree mill is a business that sells illegitimate diplomas or academic degrees, respectively. The term ''diploma mill'' is also used pejoratively to describe any educational institution with low standards for admission and gradua ...

Washington University Washington University in St. Louis (WashU) is a private research university in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Founded in 1853 by a group of civic leaders and named for George Washington, the university spans 355 acres across its Danforth ...

and Cal Southern University.

Business holding

In 1988, he established Padamya Company with Htein Win and 2 other partners. In 1990, he formed his own construction company, Zaykabar Company, one of the country's largest construction companies. Later, he became chairman of the National Development Group of Companies, Myanmar Tourism Board and the Myanmar Construction Entrepreneurs Association. The Burmese government has awarded him two titles: Thiri Thudhamma Manijotadhara (1998) and Agga Maha Thirithudhamma Manijhotadhara (2001). Khin Shwe is head of Sasana Nogghaha, a religious organization supported by the Burmese government. Khin Shwe was featured on the US’s

Specially Designated Nationals list The Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List, also known as the SDN List, is a United States government sanctions/embargo measure targeting U.S.-designated terrorists, officials and beneficiaries of certain authoritarian regimes, a ...

for more than ten years. He saw his name removed with the lifting of sanctions by the White House in October 2016. Along with Htay Myint, Dagon Win Aung and Nay Zin Latt, Khin Shwe serves as a patron of the Myanmar Hoteliers Association.

Shwe Mann Thura Shwe Mann (, ; born 11 July 1947) is a Burmese politician who was Speaker of the Pyithu Hluttaw, the lower house of parliament from 31 January 2011 to 29 January 2016.Freeman, A. & Roads, J"Myanmar’s Speaker of the Lower House Shwe Mann ...

and Khin Shwe are related by marriage: Shwe Mann's son,

Toe Naing Mann Toe Naing Mann (, ; born 29 June 1978) is a Burmese businessman and founder of Red Link Communications, a major Burmese telecommunications group. Toe Naing Mann's father is Shwe Mann, a former military general and Speaker of the Pyithu Hluttaw. ...

, is married to Zay Zin Latt (), Khin Shwe's daughter. Khin Shwe's son Zay Thiha (), promoter of the

World Lethwei Championship World Lethwei Championship (also known as WLC) was a Lethwei promotion based in Yangon, Myanmar. The promotion brought the millennia-old Burmese martial of Lethwei to UFC Fight Pass and showcased it to the world. The WLC events combined the hi ...

, is married to Nanda Hlaing, a Burmese actress and model. In 2021, he opened Zaykabar Museum, the largest private museum in Myanmar, in Yangon.

Political career

He is a member of the

Union Solidarity and Development Party The Union Solidarity and Development Party (; abbr. USDP) is an ultranationalist, pro-military political party in Myanmar. Alongside the National League for Democracy, it is one of Myanmar's two principal national parties. USDP is the succe ...

. In the

2010 Myanmar general election General elections were held in Myanmar on 2010, in accordance with the new constitution, which was approved in a referendum held in . The election date was announced by the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) on . The elections were th ...

, he contested the

Yangon Region Yangon Region (, ; formerly Rangoon Division and Yangon Division) is an administrative region of Myanmar. Located in central Myanmar, the region is bordered by Bago Region to the north and east, the Gulf of Martaban to the south, and Ayeyarwady ...

№ 9 constituency winning a majority of 173,208 (73.76 percent of the votes), won a

House of Nationalities The Amyotha Hluttaw (, ; House of Nationalities) is the ''de jure'' upper house of the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw, the bicameral legislature of Myanmar (Burma). It consists of 224 members, of which 168 are directly elected and 56 appointed by the My ...

seat. In the aftermath of the

2021 Myanmar coup d'état A coup d'état in Myanmar began on the morning of 1 February 2021, when Elections in Myanmar, democratically elected members of the country's ruling party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), were deposed by the Tatmadaw, Myanmar's milita ...

, he was arrested and sent to

Insein Prison Insein Prison () is located in Yangon Division, near Yangon (Rangoon), the old capital of Myanmar (formerly Burma). From 1988 to 2011 it was run by the military junta of Myanmar, named the State Law and Order Restoration Council from 1988 to 2003 ...

on 21 March 2022 along with his son Zay Thiha, following a conflict over a failed building development on military-owned land in Yangon. They are the first major cronies to be arrested after the coup. Khin Shwe was released in September 2024 on reported health grounds with a junta pardon.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Khin Shwe Members of the House of Nationalities Burmese businesspeople 1952 births Living people People from Mawlamyine Burmese Mon people