By Amit Roy
SOME might call this “a shock result” but the number of billionaires in Eastern Eye’s annual Asian Rich List has shot up from three in 2012 to seven this year despite the recession – or possibly because of it.
“It’s a better time to buy, no?” was the home-spun wisdom about prices being lower offered by a source close to the Hinduja family.
After playing second fiddle for years to the steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal, the Hinduja brothers, Srichand and Gopi, have come out top this year with net wealth assessed at £12.5 billion – up £3bn on the 2012 figure.
Led by Gopi’s son, Sanjay, the Hindujas had acquired the American lubricant giant, Houghton International, for $1.1bn, beating some 30 other rivals in the process.
The Hindujas already possess Gulf Oil, of which Sanjay is chairman and which has recruited the Indian cricket captain, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, as its brand ambassador in India.
“MSD”, who has led India to three successive Test match victories against Australia, “doesn’t come cheap”, it was pointed out.
The falling demand for steel in Europe and elsewhere has reduced the wealth of Mittal, chairman and CEO of ArcelorMittal, from £13.5bn in 2012 to £11bn this year.
But Mittal had an outstanding year in other ways. Having sponsored the ArcelorMittal Orbit by the Olympic Park last year, he enjoyed worldwide free publicity on BBC television every night during the Olympic and Paralympic Games. He also entertained some 850 guests, many of them high profile, and took them to the top of the 115m high sculpture – a metaphor for his status in the world of steel.
Mittal has also bought a cement business, Hope Construction Materials, in Britain for a reported £272 million, thereby safeguarding the jobs of about
800 employees.
The third billionaire from last year, mining magnate Anil Agarwal, is down from £3.2bn to £3bn.
But the exclusive “billionaires’ club” has four new members – the discount traders Simon, Bobby and Robin Arora (£1.2bn); “chicken king” Ranjit and
Beljinder Boparan Singh (also £1.2bn); hotelier Jasminder Singh (£1.1bn); and Sir Anwar Pervez (£1bn) who is in cash & carry, banking and cement.
Sir Anwar’s Eton-educated son, Dawood, 38, provided a plausible explanation for why Asians businesses, many family owned, are showing resilience in the face of a sustained recession. “With a business like Bestway you need part of the family managing the business,” he explained.
“Yes, you can professionalise it but all that happens when you professionalise it is that your overheads start going up. The fact that owners are actively running and managing their own business makes a big difference to how a business is run, especially a low-margin business.”
There are also several new faces on the list, among them Rajesh Satija (£390m), who is in mining in Africa and who has now located himself in London by buying a house in Mayfair.
Perhaps the most important arrival in London since Lakshmi Mittal came here from Indonesia in late 1995 is that of his brother-in-law, Sri Prakash Lohia, whose company Indorama is the biggest polyester manufacturer in the world. Lohia, 60, who is married to Mittal’s younger sister, Seema, was asked by EE: “Why did you make the move to London?” Indonesian national Lohia, who has based himself in the UK with an “investor’s visa”, replied:
“Sixty per cent of my business is in the west. Also, it’s easier to travel from here than from Asia.”
Lohia’s details came in a little too late for him to be included in this year’s Rich List but with his wealth from his publicly listed company, Indorama
Ventures Public Company Ltd, assessed conservatively at $3.4bn (£2.25bn), he would rank comfortably in fourth position.
Asian Rich List: Top 10
1. Srichand and Gopichand Hinduja
Hinduja Group £12.5bn (£9.5bn)
2. Lakshmi Mittal
ArcelorMittal Limited £11bn (£13.5bn)
3. Anil Agarwal
Vedanta Resources £3bn (£3.2bn)
4. Simon, Bobby and Robin Arora
B&M Retail £1.2bn (£415m)
5. Ranjit and Baljinder Boparan
Boparan Holdings Limited £1.15bn (£950m)
6. Jasminder Singh
Edwardian Group Limited £1.1bn (£500m)
7. Sir Anwar Pervez
Bestway Holdings Limited £1bn (£815m)
8. Manubhai Chandaria family
Trading £850m (£850m)
9. Lord Swraj Paul
Caparo Holdings £845m (£675m)
10. Jatania family
Personal care & property £640m (£625m)
* Figures from 2012 in brackets
The Asian Rich List is on sale for £25. To buy a copy, contact Saurin Shah at 020 7654 7737
or email [email protected]
