Sunday, September 30, 2007

Tay Za might have left Burma

With the political turmoil in Burma, Tay Za, the Burmese tycoon, is reported to have left Burma too. The Irrawaddy magazine reported that a Burmese worker in Dubai saw Kyaing Kyaing and her family members chekced in the most expensive hotel in Dubai, the Dubai Burj Al Arab.

Tay Za, who is a close associate of Than Shwe's family, was also reported to be in the encourage. However, this report was not confirmed. He was reported to have left Burma on September 27 with his daugher.

Chairman of Myanmar's Air Bagan, Tay Za, left, speaks with Yangon Commander Maj. Gen. Hla Htay Win ,right, and Transport Minister Maj. Gen. Thein Swe, center, as they stand next to the airline's Airbus A310-200, during a launching ceremony of the first Air Bagan international flight Tuesday, May 15, 2007, at Yangon International Airport, Burma.

Tay Za had asked his staff to keep one airplane on standby at the airport in Rangoon following the street protests, Irrawaddy quoted a local journalist as saying.

Tay Za is the CEO of Htoo Trading Company and owner of Air Bagan, which has five fleets of airplanes, including A-310 planes. Air Bagan began operating in 2004 and expanded its international destinations this year, connecting to Singapore and announcing plans to fly to Kunming and Seoul later this year.

On September 28, a pro-democracy Burmese went over to check the addresses of Tay Za in Singapore.

" For his residence, it was impossible to get interior shots. We knocked on the door and there was one elderly woman, Burmese, wearing a longyi and with Seneca on her face. We as said we were looking for a Malay family that used to live there. We asked how long she had been in that apartment and she said two months. We left
after our conversation," he reported.

Tay Za's apartment in Singapore

"Next we went to the office of Htoo Trading Co. Ltd. And Bagan Airlines. They
share the same office space. I was only able to take images of the outside
as the door was locked by a buzzer."

Singapore's office of Tay Za

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