Yuzana Company Limited () is a Burmese company involved in the construction, agriculture, hospitality, real estate and fishery industries. Yuzana Company was established in 1994 by Htay Myint, a businessman with close ties to

Khin Nyunt Khin Nyunt (; ; born 23 October 1939) is a retired Burmese army general widely recognized for his influential role in shaping Myanmar's political dynamics. Serving as the Chief of Intelligence and Prime Minister of Myanmar from 25 August 2003 ...

, a former Burmese prime minister and

Than Shwe Than Shwe (; ; born 2 February 1933) is a retired Burmese army general who held influential positions within Myanmar's government. Serving as the chairman of the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) from 1992 to 2011, he played a signifi ...

, the former head of the country's

military junta A military junta () is a system of government led by a committee of military leaders. The term ''Junta (governing body), junta'' means "meeting" or "committee" and originated in the Junta (Peninsular War), national and local junta organized by t ...

. Yuzana began as a fisheries venture in Myeik (Mergui) in Southern Burma's

Taninthayi Division Tanintharyi Region (, ; Mon: or ; formerly Tenasserim Division and Tanintharyi Division) is a region of Myanmar, covering the long narrow southern part of the country on the northern Malay Peninsula, reaching to the Kra Isthmus. It borders th ...

. Yuzana Company also owns

palm oil Palm oil is an edible vegetable oil derived from the mesocarp (reddish pulp) of the fruit of oil palms. The oil is used in food manufacturing, in beauty products, and as biofuel. Palm oil accounted for about 36% of global oils produced from o ...

, sugarcane, teak, physic nut (''Jatropha curcas''), and

rubber Rubber, also called India rubber, latex, Amazonian rubber, ''caucho'', or ''caoutchouc'', as initially produced, consists of polymers of the organic compound isoprene, with minor impurities of other organic compounds. Types of polyisoprene ...

plantations. Yuzana is one of Burma's largest producers of

lahpet Lahpet, also spelled laphet, laphat, lephet, leppet, or letpet in English (, ), is Burmese for fermented or pickled tea. Myanmar is one of the few countries where tea is consumed both as a drink and as an eaten delicacy, in the form of pickled ...

(pickled tea leaves), a national dish. Yuzana is also one of four indigenous Burmese companies that harvests marine

shrimps A shrimp (: shrimp ( US) or shrimps ( UK)) is a crustacean with an elongated body and a primarily swimming mode of locomotion – typically Decapods belonging to the Caridea or Dendrobranchiata, although some crustaceans outside of this orde ...

, in a farm.

Projects

In 1994, Yuzana Company opened one of Burma's largest shopping centers, Yuzana Supermarket, in Rangoon. In 1997, it opened Yuzana Hotel, a 198-room hotel in Rangoon. In the 1990s, the company constructed Yuzana Garden City, a suburban housing development in Rangoon. In 2007, Yuzana Company was awarded a build-operate-transfer government contract to redevelop the

Stilwell Road The Ledo Road () was an overland connection between British India and China, built during World War II to enable the Western Allies to deliver supplies to China and aid the war effort against Japan. After the Japanese cut off the Burma Ro ...

, which linked northeast India and China during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and collect toll and tax fees for 30 years. In November 2010, Yuzana Company opened a tapioca powder factory in

Kachin State Kachin State (; Jingpho language, Kachin: ) is the northernmost administrative divisions of Myanmar, state of Myanmar. It is bordered by China to the north and east (Tibet Autonomous Region, Tibet and Yunnan, respectively), Shan State to the sou ...

, near the company's plantations in the

Hukawng Valley The Hukawng Valley (; also spelt Hukaung Valley) is an isolated valley in Myanmar, roughly in area. It is located in Tanaing Township in the Myitkyina District of Kachin State in the northernmost part of the country. It has the Hukaung Valley ...

. The factory is reported to be the largest in

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...

. In 2011, Yuzana Company was named as one of the subcontractors for a major development project, to establish a

special economic zone A special economic zone (SEZ) is an area in which the business and trade laws are different from the rest of the country. SEZs are located within a country's national borders, and their aims include increasing trade balance, employment, increas ...

Dawei Dawei (, ; , ; , RTGS: ''Thawai'', ; formerly known as Tavoy) is a city in south-eastern Myanmar and is the capital of the Tanintharyi Region, formerly known as the Tenasserim Division, on the eastern bank of the Dawei River. The city is about ...

Tourism

Yuzana Company currently operates three hotels in Myanmar: #Yuzana Hotel -

Bahan Township Bahan Township (, ) is located in the north central part of Yangon. The township comprises 22 wards, and shares borders with Yankin Township and Mayangon Township in the north, Sanchaung Township and Kamayut Township in the west, Tamwe Town ...

Yangon Yangon, formerly romanized as Rangoon, is the capital of the Yangon Region and the largest city of Myanmar. Yangon was the List of capitals of Myanmar, capital of Myanmar until 2005 and served as such until 2006, when the State Peace and Dev ...

#Yuzana Garden Hotel -

Mingala Taungnyunt Township Mingala Taungnyunt Township ( ; also spelled Mingalar Taung Nyunt) is a township of Yangon, Myanmar. Located in the east-central part of the city, the township consists of 20 wards, and shares borders with Dagon Township in the west, Bahan townshi ...

#Yuzana Resort Hotel -

Ngwesaung Ngwesaung ( ), also spelt Ngwe Hsaung, is a beach resort located 48 km west of Pathein, Ayeyarwady Region, Myanmar. It is the namesake of Ngwesaung Subtownship, Pathein Township. In 2014, the town of Ngwesaung had 10,732 people. The beach is ...

Controversy

Yuzana Company, as well as its founder Htay Myint, are currently subject to American investment sanctions. The company has received preferential government loans to subsidize financially unsound projects.

Land confiscation and habitat destruction

Since 2006, Yuzana Company has seized over of land from

farmers to plant

sugarcane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of tall, Perennial plant, perennial grass (in the genus ''Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar Sugar industry, production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fib ...

and

cassava ''Manihot esculenta'', common name, commonly called cassava, manioc, or yuca (among numerous regional names), is a woody shrub of the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae, native to South America, from Brazil, Paraguay and parts of the Andes. Although ...

in massive mono-crop plantations. That year, the Burmese government granted Yuzana Company a land concession to develop an agricultural development zone in

(much of it in the

Hukawng Valley Tiger Reserve Hukaung Valley Wildlife Sanctuary is a protected area in northern Myanmar, covering . It was established in 2004 and extended to its present size in 2010. It was initially gazetted in 2004 with an area of in Tanaing Township and extended to Kamai ...

), in Danai and

Hpakant Township Hpakant Township"Myanmar States/Divisions ...

s. Within the boundaries of the land concession were seven villages that housed approximately 5,000 farmers. In August 2012, after negotiations with the National Democratic Front, Htay Myint elected to return a more than of farmland to farmers in

Hpakant Township Hpakant Township"Myanmar States/Divisions ...

. The farmers had sued Yuzana Company for the uncompensated confiscation of of farmland in 2010. of the plantations are in the

. The company has razed forests and destroyed animal corridors in the world's largest tiger reserve. In 2011, Kachin News Group, an ethnic news organization reported that 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 ...

had been stockpiling weapons in Yuzana Company's crop plantations in the

. In July 2012, Yuzana Company was named as one of the perpetrators involved in illegal farmland seizures (initially part of a contract farming scheme) in

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 ...

's Dagon Seikkan and

East Dagon Township East Dagon Township (also East Dagon Myothit; ) is located in the easternmost part of Yangon, Myanmar. The township comprises 54 wards and three village tracts. It shares borders with Hlegu Township in the north, North Dagon Township in the west ...

References

{{reflist Conglomerate companies of Myanmar Holding companies established in 1994 1994 establishments in Myanmar