In-Depth 
Explainer: Who are the companies and cronies backing Myanmar junta leader’s Thailand visit?
Some familiar faces could be seen in Bangkok on Thursday, as Min Aung Hlaing continues to use economic enticements to win international acceptance
Some of Myanmar’s biggest companies and business figures have emerged alongside junta leader Min Aung Hlaing during his current two-day visit to Thailand, as Bangkok seeks closer economic ties with its war-torn neighbour and backs greater international engagement with its military-led administration.
The Thailand–Myanmar Business Forum 2026, which was held yesterday in Bangkok, brought together officials, investors, and executives from both countries and was sponsored by several Myanmar companies, including KBZ Bank, Myanmar Airways International (MAI), and Myanmar Awba Group, as well as major Thai corporations with business interests in Myanmar.
The gathering comes as Min Aung Hlaing intensifies his efforts to win international acceptance for his regime following military-organised elections held earlier this year. Thailand, as a fellow member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), has said it supports Myanmar’s “full and equal participation” in regional bloc’s mechanisms.
Here is what is known about the companies and business figures involved.
KBZ Bank, Myanmar’s largest private bank and part of billionaire Aung Ko Win’s KBZ Group, was among the sponsors.
Justice For Myanmar (JFM), an activist group that investigates companies which support the military, has alleged that KBZ Bank provides financial services to businesses transacting with the junta.
The group has also reported that Air KBZ, while it was under KBZ Group ownership, helped procure and transfer ATR aircraft to the Myanmar Air Force, and leased back some of the aircraft, providing the military with a revenue stream.
KBZ was also named in a Danish OECD National Contact Point complaint against an aircraft leasing company filed by JFM. The complaint resulted in adverse findings against the Danish company for failing to conduct due diligence in its relationship with Air KBZ.
Myanmar Airways International, part of the 24 Hour Group conglomerate which also now owns Air KBZ, was another sponsor. MAI has expanded flights to Russia as the junta has developed closer political, military and economic ties with Moscow.
JFM has accused 24 Hour Group of providing support that helped keep ATR and Airbus aircraft used by the Myanmar military operational despite international sanctions.
Myanmar Awba Group, one of Myanmar’s largest agricultural businesses, also sponsored the forum. The company produces fertilisers, seeds and crop-protection products.
The corporate presence extended beyond the companies officially sponsoring the forum.
Aung Ko Win and Max Myanmar Group chair Zaw Zaw were both in attendance on Thursday night at a banquet hosted by Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul for Min Aung Hlaing, who was seen introducing the two businessmen to Anutin and Thai business figures.
While KBZ Bank sponsored the forum, Max Myanmar Group, which operates AYA Bank, did not appear on the published sponsor list.
The appearances were notable because both businessmen had maintained relatively low public profiles since the military seized power in February 2021. They have become more visible as Min Aung Hlaing has stepped up overseas engagement following this year’s controversial election.
Aung Ko Win also accompanied Min Aung Hlaing on a recent visit to India.
Following an earlier Myanmar Now report about that trip, Aung Ko Win’s lawyers said he had travelled in his capacity as patron and honorary chairman of the Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry (UMFCCI), representing private-sector interests.
UMFCCI has also publicly praised Min Aung Hlaing’s overseas diplomacy while Aung Ko Win served as its patron, a position he continues to hold. In a congratulatory notice published through junta-controlled state media on March 8, 2025, Aung Ko Win and other UMFCCI leaders congratulated a delegation led by Min Aung Hlaing on what they called the “historic successes” of his visits to Russia and Belarus.
Aung Ko Win and his businesses have faced scrutiny over their past commercial ties with military-owned conglomerates, including involvement in ruby mining ventures with Myanma Economic Holdings Limited.
The current KBZ headquarters in downtown Yangon, for example, occupies a former government office complex that was transferred to a military conglomerate during Myanmar’s controversial privatisation of state assets under military rule.
In June, Myanmar Now sent Aung Ko Win’s lawyers detailed questions about this and other alleged financial and commercial relationships between KBZ Group and military-owned entities, as well as his relationship with Min Aung Hlaing.
His lawyers said they needed more time and would respond “in due course.” Myanmar Now did not subsequently receive answers to those questions.
Other Myanmar business representatives seen at the Bangkok banquet included Khine Khine Nwe, deputy managing director of Best Industrial Company Limited, general secretary of the Myanmar Garment Manufacturers Association, and joint secretary-general of the UMFCCI.
Thai companies involved
The forum also drew sponsorship from major Thai companies, including PTTEP, Bangkok Bank, SCG, ThaiBev and AMATA Corporation. Several have longstanding investments or commercial interests in Myanmar.
ThaiBev is heavily invested in the alcohol sector in Myanmar. Its interests in Myanmar include Grand Royal Group, a prominent whiskey brand, and Chang beer. According to JFM, Grand Royal Group’s tax payments to the junta were 25.9 billion kyat, or US$14 million, in the fourth quarter of 2021 alone, making it one of the top taxpayers.
PTTEP is also particularly significant because of its role in Myanmar’s offshore natural gas industry, one of the country’s most important sources of foreign currency.
Just a week ago, the junta signed a Domestic Gas Supply Agreement with PTTEP International Limited covering gas from the M-3 offshore block, also known as the Aung Theinkha project. Production is expected to begin in late 2028, according to the junta.
