Nepalese billionaire Binod Chaudhary says at reception
Political stability is the key to accelerating economic growth in South Asian countries, said Nepalese billionaire Binod Chaudhary.
The International Chamber of Commerce-Bangladesh held a reception at Ruposhi Bangla Hotel on Friday to felicitate the first billionaire of the Himalayan country.
“We have a long-standing relationship with Bangladesh,” Chaudhary said.
“I am considering this felicitation very special due to my relationship with some people of this country.”
The Nepalese business tycoon came to Bangladesh on a three-day trip to attend the programmes of the Social Business Day on Friday.
This was his first visit to Bangladesh since carving a place for himself in the 2012 Forbes magazine’s billionaire-list.
“We are proud to honour Chaudhary,” said Mahbubur Rahman, president of the chamber.
Chaudhary has set an example on how to survive in a challenging environment, Rahman said.
The 57-year-old businessman, who has turned his family-run textile trade into a billion-dollar conglomerate, now wants to carve his name in social business.
His conglomerate — Chaudhary Group — has more than 80 companies with interests in banking, foods, cement, real estate, hotels, power, retail and electronics sectors.
The Group has entered neighboring India with its famous Wai Wai brand of instant noodles and forged a partnership with India’s Taj Hotels Group with which it owns hotels in Sri Lanka, the Maldives, Thailand as well as in India.
It also has a stake in Alila, an Asian luxury boutique chain, and is setting up its own hotels under the Zinc brand.
Chaudhary hails from a business clan with Indian roots. His grandfather Bhuramal Chaudhary, a textile trader from Rajasthan, migrated to Nepal in the 19th century. He opened a small textile store that used to supply goods to the erstwhile rulers.
Chaudhary’s father, Lunkaran Das, converted that into Arun Emporium, Nepal’s first departmental store. The eldest of three siblings, Chaudhary joined the business at the age of 18. The Group had 400 people then versus 7,500 today.
Source: The Daily Star
