A candid tale of an ambitious entrepreneur

KATHMANDU, FEB 03 -

Books on the lives of businessmen are rarely written in Nepal. The unveiling of ‘ Binod Chaudhary - Atmakatha’ here on Saturday is one such rare instance.

The book written by Chaudhary in collaboration with Sudeep Shrestha is a fascinating tale of Chaudhary’s business journey of over four decades—from his entry into the family business, his growth as a business leader and transformation of Chaudhary Group into a business conglomerate. It’s a story of a businessman who looks ahead of time.

One of the country’s flamboyant entrepreneurs, Chaudhary is candid in the book when he talks about his relation with the then royal family, his investments abroad and some of his business acquisitions and rivalries.

What makes the book interesting is it gives an idea how businesses were run in the Panchayat era, how the private sector had to get cosy with establishments, mainly the royal family, while acquiring licences, and how he eventually fell out with the royals.

Many of his critics say his success is due to his close links with the then royal family. Chaudhary has confessed his intimacy with the then prince Dhirendra Shah. “He (Dhirendra Shah) has been instrumental in my elevation to where I am today. Had he not supported me during crisis, I would have definitely been doing some businesses, but I doubt whether I would have been in a position to write this book,” he writes.

But he fell out with Dhirendra’s wife Prekshya when she told him to sell Dhirendra’s stake in Apollo Steel to a rival business house.

The 327-page autobiography published by Nepalaya reveals a lot about Chaudhary, who was an unusual Marwari. Against the Marwari tradition, he went for a love marriage, that too when he was already engaged with another lady. Starting a discotheque—Copper Floor—in early 70s in Kathmandu was again unthinkable at the time for someone from Marwari family.

Chaudhary takes a lot of pride in his success in the noodles business, particularly with the ‘WaiWai’ brand. The WaiWai story began at the baggage counter of Tribhuvan International Airport some 30 years ago. The brand has now spread it wings to 35 countries with an annual production of a billion packets. “Our dream is to establish global empire of WaiWai. I have confidence that we can achieve it,” he writes.

The country’s law bars Nepalis from investing abroad, but it has not stopped Nepali businessmen spreading their businesses outside the country. And, Chaudhary was perhaps the first who dreamt of becoming a Nepali multinational. His expansion outside the country tells how shrewd and smart businessman he is.

In the book, Chaudhary has confessed how he used the loopholes in the law to make investments abroad. “The biggest challenge I had was to identify the loopholes in the law so that no one would question about my foreign investments,” he writes. “The provision on ‘Non Resident Nepali (NRN)’ in the Income Tax Act was one such loophole which has termed Nepali citizens living more than 183 days outside the country as NRN. They had the liberty to invest abroad.”

As ambitious Chaudhary as a businessman is, he is also a great networker and hardworking. There are numerous such instances in the book—from how he pursued the principal of Welham School of Dehradun to get enrolled his elder son Nirvana, how he managed to convince Sikkim Chief Minister Pawan Chamling to set up a noodles plant there, to his partnership with Tata Group’s hospitality business.

Like any businessmen, Chaudhary has maintained a close relationship with politics and politicians. He had a close relationship with Surya Bahadur Thapa during Panchayat days, then with Nepali Congress and CPN (UML) leadership after 1990. He also entered into politics as an UML lawmaker in the now-defunct Constituent Assembly. However, Chaudhary does not mention anything about the Maoists in the book.

In his 40-year journey, Chaudhary had many controversies, corporate rivalries, successes and failures, some of which have been mentioned in the book. Acquisition of Nabil Bank, failure to acquire Butwal Power Company, and controversy over Mahalaxmi Sugar Mills are some examples. However, the book does not mention his bitter fight to acquire the then Indosuez Bank.

Source: The Kathmandu Post