2020

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...[T]he Y Complex, a high-end commercial development [...] is backed by a mixture of public and private Japanese finance, with some of the country’s biggest institutions – including its international development bank JBIC and the stock exchange-listed real estate companies Daiwa House and Tokyo Tatemono – playing a part. 

But behind the glossy veneer lies a story of bloodshed. The Y Complex is built on land belonging to the Myanmar armed forces, which have been accused by the UN of carrying out genocide against the Rohingya people and crimes against humanity against other ethnic minority groups. [...]

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Who is involved in the Y Complex project?

[...] Japan’s international development bank, the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC), provided a loan as well as securing credit from sources including the Tokyo Stock Exchange-listed Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC) and Mizuho Bank. Japan Overseas Infrastructure Investment (JOIN), a fund supporting overseas development, provided a debt guarantee and also holds equity.

Real estate company Tokyo Tatemono is working on design and architecture and Fujita Corporation, a subsidiary of Daiwa House, is responsible for engineering and construction. These two companies created a special project company (SPC) in Singapore called Yangon Museum Development, named after the fact there was previously a military museum on the land Y Complex is being built on. Okura Hotels has a contract with this SPC. 

This is where things start to get murky. The SPC signed a lease agreement with a company called Yangon Technical and Trading Co. Limited (YTT), who it pays rent to. YTT is a subsidiary of Ayeyar Hinthar, a crony conglomerate that is acting as a proxy for the Myanmar military. Justice For Myanmar has found unquestionable evidence that the land rent flows straight to the Quartermaster General’s office. [...]

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