No sooner had the Burmese military attempted to convince the world it was too poor to undertake a nuclear programme than its richest man emerges from the shadows to brag about the incredible fortunes he, the generals and local and Chinese businessmen have amassed over the years. Read more in The Diplomat …

Tay Za is a 47-year-old billionaire — and he wants the West to know it.

He recently told an Italian journalist in his first interview with the foreign press: ‘I want it to be known once and for all that I am the wealthiest man in Burma. Too many Chinese have taken our citizenship and are now boasting they are the richest. But they’re not pure Burmese.’