A company owned by one of Myanmar’s richest men will continue to pay high dividends to investors despite sinking profits.

U Khin Shwe, chairman of the National Development Company Group, made the announcement at the company’s annual shareholder meeting. He claimed that National Development had enough financial reserves to continue paying 12 percent dividends to investors, the Myanmar Times reported. The company will also not conduct mass layoffs, the chairman insisted. Indeed, he said the company planned to increase payouts to 20 percent at an undefined point in the future.

The announcement came amid a serious downturn for National Development, which mainly deals in high profile property development projects. According to data obtained from the company’s financial report by the Myanmar Times, the profits were down 14 percent this fiscal year, dropping from MMK 649 million to MMK 551 million. However, the company still has MMK 333 million in cash reserves and total assets of MMK 8.6 billion.

U Khin Shwe is a former United Solidarity and Development Party lawmaker and one of Myanmar’s richest people. He made a reputation in luxury property development, but his ties to the military kept him placed on the US Specially Designated National list until 2016. Today, he also owns the Zaykabar group of companies. He runs several charities and maintains a philanthropic image, however he has also been met with accusations of intimidating local communities out of their land to make room for his projects.

“I could personally even give out a rate of return of 15 percent, not 12 percent,” the Myanmar Times quoted him as saying. “We will be making more investments in the future. So, this is why we are paying the shareholders. They need to have money in their hands when we make future investments.”