Humanitarian Raid
A mile north of the chaotic heart of downtown Rangoon, where electrical wires dangle haphazardly overhead and street vendors hawk roasted pig intestines, sits an upscale complex of 240 luxury residences overlooking the iconic Shwedagon Pagoda and a serene man-made lake. Marketed to wealthy expatriates and foreign businesspeople on extended stays in Burma’s bustling commercial capital, the newly built Shangri-La Serviced Apartments advertise “idyllic luxury in a modern metropolis” and amenities including a swimming pool, 24-hour private security, maids quarters, and a limousine service. Signs in the lobby inform guests that the complex now offers the Cartoon Network and yoga classes.
In 2011, Burma haltingly emerged from decades of oppressive rule by a military junta when a nominally civilian government came to power. The United States eased sanctions against the country the following year, and foreign investors rushed into this resource-rich frontier market. The influx of wealthy expats formed a ready-made clientele for the Shangri-La, where apartments rent for as much as $7,000 a month. In a country where about half the population lacks electricity and there are just six physicians for every 10,000 people, Shangri-La residents enjoy luxuries that are unfathomable to the surrounding populace, including an on-call private doctor and high-speed wifi.
The apartments are part of a global business empire controlled by Malaysian billionaire Robert Kuok, one of Southeast Asia’s richest men and founder of the Shangri-La chain of hotels and resorts. His family’s diversified holdings extend from sugarcane plantations and real estate to one of the world’s largest palm oil companies, Wilmar International. “If you have a profit you have to take it,” the 92-year-old magnate recently told the Financial Times. “If you wait it will be your downfall.”
Kuok first gained a foothold in Burma in the 1990s when he partnered with Steven Law, who owns the country’s largest conglomerate and is the son of the late Lo Hsing Han, a notorious drug lord nicknamed the “godfather of heroin.” A leaked State Department cable dubbed Law “the regime’s top crony,” and in 2010 the Treasury Department imposed sanctions against both father and son. Together with Law, Kuok built what is now the Sule Shangri-La hotel in Rangoon, a popular destination for the Burmese and foreign elite.
In recent years, Kuok has teamed up with a far more respectable business partner to expand his chain of luxury hotels and resorts throughout Asia: the International Finance Corporation. A branch of the World Bank, the IFC
