Thein Aung ( my, သိန်းအောင်; 1965 — 4 November 2021) was a Burmese business executive who was the

chief financial officer The chief financial officer (CFO) is an officer of a company or organization that is assigned the primary responsibility for managing the company's finances, including financial planning, management of financial risks, record-keeping, and financ ...

(CFO) of Myanmar's major telecommunications company,

Mytel Mytel is a major telecommunications company in Myanmar (Burma), as one of four national carriers. Mytel is operated as a joint venture between the Burmese military and Viettel, which is owned by Vietnam's Ministry of National Defence. Mytel has be ...

. He was a retired major in

Myanmar Navy The Myanmar Navy ( my, တပ်မတော် (ရေ); ) is the naval warfare branch of the armed forces of Myanmar. With 24,000 personnel on duty, the navy operates more than 150 vessels. Prior to 1988, the navy was small, and its role in c ...

, held leadership positions in multiple military-owned ventures, including as the general manager of the conglomerate

Myanmar Economic Corporation The Myanmar Economic Corporation ( my, မြန်မာ့စီးပွားရေး ကော်ပိုရေးရှင်း; abbreviated MEC) is one of the two major conglomerates and holding companies operated by the Burmese military ...

and its subsidiary Star High Co., Ltd.

Career

During his military career he was a personal assistant to the former Myanmar navy chief. He was also reportedly close to the current chief, Admiral Moe Aung, as they are both from the same batch at the military academy. He retired from the military service with the rank of major and joined the military businesses. Thein Aung has served on the board of multiple military owned businesses, including the Star High Group and the Star High company, Jewels of Angels, Golden Majestic Star Mobile, Agro Pack and Telecom International Myanmar. He joined Mytel as a member of the board of directors in 2018 and served as the CFO of the company until 2019 when he resigned. Following the

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

, anti-regime forces are increasingly targeting Myanmar military-linked businesses, Thein Aung being their most high-profile victim.

Death

On 4 November 2021, he and his wife Theint Aung Thu were shot dead by an unidentified man as they were leaving their house to walk at around 7:30 am. He died on the spot after being shot four times, and his wife was seriously injured. Some 150 military troops began a search of the township in the hours after his death. Some 20 young people living in a hostel in Mayangone Township were reportedly arrested on the evening of November 4.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thein Aung 1965 births 2021 deaths Burmese businesspeople Burmese military personnel Deaths by firearm in Myanmar