‘Businessmen should take part in politics’

Nepal’s first Forbes billionaire Binod Chaudhary has appealed to businessmen of ‘small’ SAARC countries to take part in politics, for he feels everything revolves around politics with ‘economics at the centre stage’.

“We have to work together not only in businesses, but perhaps also through participation in politics in our own way,” he said.

The chairman of the Cinnovation/ Chaudhury Group that owns nearly 80 companies with interests in banking, foods, cement, real estate, hotels, power, retail, and electronics was speaking at a reception in his honour in Dhaka on Friday.

International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) Bangladesh felicitated him for the Forbes recognition.

Hamstrung at home during the Nepal Maoist regime, Chaudhury, 57, built much of his estimated $1 billion fortune overseas through his Singapore-based arm Cinnovation.

Introducing his ‘friend’ to local and foreign diplomats, business leaders, economists and eminent personalities, ICC President Mahbubur Rahman said his grandfather was a small trader back in 1933 from where they grew with substantial presence in almost every sector.

“Perhaps, the only unexplored area for business is the Antarctic...and I am sure it will not be long before he ventures there as well,” he said.

In his brief speech, Chaudhary touched an emotional chord about his 20-year relation with Bangladesh that began with the formation of SAARC Chamber in 1994 and called the country his ‘second home’.

He focused on current situation of the SAARC member states, particularly India’s influence.

He said despite the decades old regional group and its 20-year-old Chamber “it’s not easy for one small nation to deal with another. To deal with India it’s fine, it’s easy. But today for Nepal to deal with Bangladesh and Bangladesh with other smaller nations continue to be as challenge...such is the situation”.

Nepal is ‘a unique example’ in this regard.

“We are still struggling. We can light up the whole of India, given the natural hyro power resources of the country. But today Nepal is an importer of power”.

“We have to bring economics to the centre stage of politics,” he stressed, or else “we will continue to struggle...our opportunities and our resources will remain unexploited”.

He has also been a member of the Constituent Assembly and Parliament of Nepal from April 2008 to May 2012.

“We joined the Parliament. It was a huge transformation from a monarchy to republic. But with 80 percent of the members being leftist, the challenge was to create a Constitution that is business-friendly.

“..challenges were to ensure no emotions, no rhetoric, no dogmatic philosophies were reflected in the Constitution”.

He, however, said they had succeeded.

“I am happy to say the economic part of the Constitution is as forward looking as that of any democratic country in the world,” he said citing instances how the business community participated in areas “we know can help for a bright future”.

Chaudhury’s grandfather started a shop after the 1933 earthquake in Nepal with a yearly rental of Rs 200.

Bhuramull Chaudhury used to sell textiles imported from India. After his death, his son Lunkaran Das Chaudhury took over the business at the age of 23.

He was innovative and switched his business to jute for exporting to US and Europe. He was also an importer of fabric from Japan and Korea.

But the turning point of this family came with the establishment of Modern Hosiery Industries and the Nepal Spinning, Weaving and Knitting factory.

Binod Chaudhary joined his father when he was 18 years old.

He said in their 20 years of ‘very painful’ process of transition, “the Maoist-led armed revolution pushed not only youths outside Nepal, even businessmen like us”.

He said “the search for survival, search for expansion, desire to throw open many frontiers” continues.

His charity Chaudhary Foundation inked a deal with the Yunus Centre last year to bring social business to Nepal.

He hoped that the initiative would “unfold a new era of cooperation”.

“We (Bangladesh and Nepal) have opportunities to work together between us,” he said