ees 0From being a truck driver to setting up a $2 billion

business empire, Asghar S Patel's is the mostincredible rags-to-riches story. Here's how he did it

: AQUIN GEORGE

THE one thing I developed inLondon as a child and stillvalue is respect and dignity forlabour, else I wouldn't have

reached where I am," says Asghar SPatel (62), group chairman, House ofPatels, calmly seated in his rith flooroffice suite at the Twin Towers with abeautiful view of the Dubai creek.

And this value is very much evidentfrom the way h'e talks and movesaround. Even during the photo-shoot hewillingly assists our cameraman with noairs whatsoever.

After all, before he created an empirewith a turnover of over $2 billion, heused to drive a truck. Yes, a truck.

Here's the story. Patel was sent toHillhead High School in London duringthe India-Pakistan partition days and helived with a Scottish family since the ageof six and a half. After schooling in Lon-don, Patel chose to return to India andwork rather than go back to the UK forhigher studies.

He started off as a stenographer, thenbecame a PA to the MD of the companybefore becoming a car salesman forimported cars in Mumbai at age 18. Fol-lowing this he had a short stint with hisfather's business dealing in shoes, caps,gumboots, Kolhapuri chappals, etc ..

He then decided to set-up his ownbusiness and decided to invest in atruck.

"My father questioned me, 'Did I sendyou to London so that you could comeback and be a lorrywallah(truckdriver)?',' laughs Patel.

His disappointed father obviously didnot finance his entrepreneurial initia-tives, forcing Patel to buy his own truckin 1960, and even drive it from Mumbaito Delhi delivering goods in order to payback the instalments.

Fast forward 10 years and you havePatel Roadways which by then hadbecome a household name. Today it hasan annual turnover of Rs120 crores andover 800 branches in India.

"Then in 1968-70 we thought of

diversification and took to exports. Wecame to Dubai and started importingbuilding materials and selling it in theGulf. India at that time was in. urgentneed of foreign exchange and the Gulfregion was growing rapidly.

"After that, it was here that I metMohammed AI Louan (now with HSBC)

BUSINESS / MG

or unebusinesses not only in India and Dubaibut also in Hong Kong, London, amongothers and are expecting to get a licencefrom the US for starting their remit-tance business any time now. He's gotbusinesses of some or the other naturecurrently running anywhere from NewYork and London to Australia and NewZealand.

House of Patels also encompasses anonboard courier service that is doingbrilliant business. "It is almost amonopoly," smiles Patel. What he's

around 21 years ago and with his helpset-up the Wall Street Exchange Centre.It was like a small corner shop in NaifRoad. This was the third business Istarted and even this grew rapidly. I waslucky in the sense that we were in theright place at the righttime. It was during thisperiod that a lot of Indianlabourers were savingmoney to send back totheir native land,"informs Patel.

They managed to getpermission from theReserve Bank of India and tied up withCentral Bank of India for their financialoperations. "Dhadi Contractor, who isnow the executive director for the Bankin Mumbai, really guided us along theright path," says Patel.

Today they are running finance

done is, buyout bellies of airlines likeAir India and lease out these spaces toother courier companies. No wonderthey are known as the courier service forother courier companies. "It works outcheaper than having our own aircraft,"

says Patel who hasacquired the Indian gov-ernment's licence to buyaircraft to support the busi-ness. He adds, "We have 72flights a day taking off bothfrom India and abroad andaround 150 courier compa-nies use our service. Basi-

cally we do the couriering work for oth-ers." These include very big names inthe courier industry whom Patel avoidsnaming.

On the personal front, Patel at the ageof 42 decided to complete his studiesand went back to college. He graduated

DTORING

in law and the best part is that he wasstudying to be a graduate at the sametime that his daughter was. He then didhis post graduate studies outside India.

Patel is quite brilliant at his work as abusinessman and equally good withwords. "All our companies in India arenow public limited. So in a sense I amnot the owner of the company just a partshareowner. I'm only the group chair-man because they've elected me to be

- one."t Talking about his style of functioninge he says, "In any business you have tov make money. Without that aim there isv no point in getting into a business. But

for me in addition to making money I11 feel my speciality is in creating institu-g tions. Marketing is my forte."a Have to agree with Patel on that one.s But what he forgets mentioning is that

he is also great at networking. They'vetie,d up with Western Union and havesupplied them with 1,200 agents acrossIndia. They are now making use of thisnetwork to promote their own productknown as, 'Instant Cash' here in Dubai.

House of Patels has an employee baseof 4,500 people worldwide. Each busi-ness has its own CEO and MD. "One ofmy greatest assets is my people. Youhave to develop them and instill in thema feeling of being part of the company,"says he. Patel got so carried away withhis dream of creating good managerialpeople he started the Patel Institute ofTransport Management, the only one ofits kind in Asia. Not only did he createtalented managers for the transportindustry in the country he also createdschemes whereby the students werefinanced by the transport .companiesthemselves.

So why did he choose Dubai as hiske base? "I'm based in Dubai for the sim-to ple reason that it is a tax-free country. It.er makes better sense for my business,"'or says Patel. While Patel sits in Dubai andlut runs the empire, his US-educated son,t," Arif Patel (30), runs the India opera-as tions and the father does not show the)V-'uy slightest fear in his son's capabilities.si- In his career spanning 43 years, Patel

feels that luck has been by his side at all)~~ times. In addition to that it is his PRnd qualities that have made him successful.a- "I've never really had an enemy," he"si- says. "And third, I ensure the companyth- is run in a simple way and we do notin complicate things. We are here because

ids of the customer and not the other wayround. You have to get this concept

age right if you want to be on the right pathlies to success."ted citytime@emirates.nel.ae

The E onomic Time 26 -fay, 2006

INearly bankrupt six years ago, Asgar P tel has rebuilt his fortune

Now flush with funds from the sale of Wall Street Exchange,he plans to become Dubai's new construction baron

Dibe.r.endu~~nsuly _

CLOSE TO the Bandra sea fa e,omewhere bel ween the home

of Sanja)1 DUll, John Abraham,hah Rukh and Salman Khan,

Asgar Patel ha built hims Ifa three torehouse on a property on owned by hifriend and famed film director of yester-year, Hri hikesh Mukherjee. The hair-man of The House of Patel doe n't tayhere much - his home, for the most part.is a four bedroom uite at the Interconti-nental, Dubai - but this week he's on avisit to see his family.

It' only appr priate that Patel shouldlive in the heart of Bollywood - after all,his life ha always been the tuff of a Hindipot-boiler. Shunned by hi busines 'manIather Ior marrying a Chri tlan.th 1 yearold Patel worked a a tenographcr in theoffices or a second hand car dealer andthen went on to build a bus in s .mpirespanning road Iran port, courier servtcecon trucuon and finan e. Then the prop-erty lump of the late 90s. combined withth HIdden collap f the BFC, pushedhim 10 near bankruptcy and h caped toDubai - where he rebuilt hi forum .

Patel ha repaid all his debt and i' noflu h with fund .. having old a. maioru 'stake in hi ompanv, 'all If' IE-change, to Empo t, the UAE' nationalcourter companv, nd at the aa of67,lheman who likes to compare him elf v ithDonaldTrump (OHe WClH bank! pt 100. IIan happ n to any entrepreneur,") ay

he to 'ing with the idea of cuing intothe con iruoion bu ine on again, thl

time in boomtown Dubai. or was 59 andready to retire when Ilost all my money"he ays. "But now I'm energi ed andready to tart all over again. The construc-tion bu ine i aU about money manage-m nt. and l have S12 million,'

r~.~~ "I.

:..~,;:·,globalindian

fact that he' rebuilt hi money changingbu .ine solely with the help of prole -sional managers. mo I of whom were

I'e cutives with publi e tor bank .. Hegive the exarnpl ran e -SB! managerwho ran his Dubai otlice: "He was ex-rremely difficult to et along with and!didn't like interacting with him, but hewa it pr Ie tonal wh did a great job.Peopl who don't conlerm oft en per-form be. t. And I have always alued tal,em, in an era when talent wa generallyn t valued. My ns belt v you call butalent. but I don't agree."

The group' two Ii. led cornpani .Pai 'IRoadway and Patel on- line Couriers arcnow' eing merged 10 create new enutynamed Patel Integrated Logisti ,and Pa-tel has handed over their running 10 hison AsiL ("I believe in one captain for onehip"}. At the same time. Patel find su .

ee i n planning an arduou: ta k a.rdsa ,"I've poken abour thl tc many oth-er busine s Iamille and they all a man-aging the rran uion i difficult. It' verhard to retain pr Ie ional manage~ hen the next generation join .. °

Through all hi tri I and tribulati n,Patel ha had one con ram our of 01·

e and that i goll, In Dubal. he's mem-b r 01 th mirare Id lub and he:dri e hi L 'U there e 'ery ahem: 10and pia' {or a good Iour h urs bel )rc h~r 'turns t hi ff1 une Ul the-Twin Th .e " "Gold d - ir es me. llkc OJ!il do ,for other people. I don't know if I couldhave ur ived without it," bt:..aT' .

:

II

THE I AlVol. 12.2intindlan.com

Cover Story

House of Patels:Indian Roots, Global PresenceGladson Ronad

When Shakoor Hasham Patel left the {ural farm-lands of Gujarat in 1917 to carve out a living inMumbai, little did he know that he was embark-ing on a momentous journey. Foraying into con-struction which became a huge business, hemoved into the import/export business finallyconcentrating on manufacturing Faiz caps wornby Muslims. He was known in India as the 'lUngof Caps.' Eighty seven years later, his son AsgarPatel, Chairman, Beuse of Patels, reignssupreme as the 'King of Iranspert' and the couri-er business in India. He has taken the group togreat heights with businesses in transportation,courier, construction, financial services, infor-mation technology, money exchange and transfer,and futures and securities.

When Asgar Patel WQS only six years old, India achievedher freedom, And it meant a different kind of freedomfor the young lad, who was sent to Scotland from

Kutch in India, in order to escape the trauma that many Indiansfelt at that time. Fourteen years later he returned to his home,refusing to go back to England to complete his education,

It was this obstinacy that caused a rift etwesn father andson and inspired Asgar to start Patel Roadways in 1959. Thoughmany transport companies existed in those days, how did Asgarmanage to make it ahousehold name in India?"Public relations has and <

will always be one of ourstrong points in the busi-ness," reveals Asgar. "Icommunicated to the pub-lic through our iogo - theleaping kangaroo with aJoey nestling cozily in itspouch - that our trucks ;;were like that symbol. tak-ing their valuable goodsacross the rugged roads

The If\torl'latiol'\a~Indian

Asgat Patel, Ci1amnal1, HO(Js<) af Patai$, IlClsteken tho group (0 BieSi hel~l}tswith blls,;ryasses ill transportation, couner, COI1StfIlCilOI1, finanoial S/lI'VlCCS, intOf'mo/ion technology, monay exchange and transfer, aM futUftl$ i)l1d secl/fit/us

and dirt tracks all over India, safely! The marsupial was chosen tosymbolize speed, energy, survival and care."

Asgar had a choice to make after he returned from Scotland-join his father's burgeoning business called Patel BrothersTopiwalleb and bask in the wealth that his father would havebequeathed anyway, But Asgar chose to work as a clerk inFairdeal Motors under the guidance of a shrewd businessman, R,

Yasm,'n Pl!(el. grand (Iaught t TaniS"" Pilla" Assar Pllte! ~nd N/sl1qa Pilla!

[i11"'U~1.U

N. Swathy, where Asgar slowly learned the intricacies of thetrucking business. "Those were the days of the Nehru era thatadvocated socialism," reminisces Asgar. "There was a shortageof everything, so transporting goods from one place to anotherwas a good business."

His excellent English accent acquired in Scotland foundfavour with financiers and soon he gained confidence enOllgh tobuy his first truck. His father disliked the idea stating that ceoptefrorn respectable businesses didn't deal in this business. His firstloading was from Mumbai to Delhi, commissioned by Glaxo.Since he was so young they dadoed to "try him out. " To savemoney Asgar drove the truck himself and even unloaded thegoods hirnself to save Rs 8, a princely sum for him in those days.Soon he received more essiqnments from Glaxo and his baseexpanded. Most senior executives of companies like Colgate andGlaxo were westerners and Asgar with his English upbringingstruck a familiar chord with them, and in the bargain also struck afew business deals.

This was the origin of Patel Roadways. Asgar was an entre-preneur with vision and drive who had the courage to take to theroad himself. Today, almost four decades later, the companv isthe national leader in road transport and logistics and the flagshipcompany of the House of Patels with interests in activities suchas Transport, Express Cargo, Air Freight, Tours & Travels,Construction, Couriers, Exports, Finance and Foreign Exchange.

Asgar faced his share of risks during his early veers in thebusiness. Once he was stopped by bandits on a highway andwhen asked to show the goods found that he was only transport-ing milk powder, besides having just a faw rupees in his pocket.The bandits slapped him around a bit and let him go. but situa-tions like these didn't deter him.

The group has come a long way indeed. For years, the Houseof Patels through its flagship company Patel Roadways has beenserving the nanon's business houses by transporting their productsfrom one part of India to another. With over 40 years of relentlessservice to its srnall, medium and large clients, Patel Roadways hasnot only provided employment to thousands of talented people. butit also has built an enormous level of trust and confidence with itscustomers by transporting cargo worth over Rs. 60 billion a year.

Asgar Paiel ,s a keen golfer (lnsvm19 he a/wavs. Ims a goad bote-tn-on« .. Seenhare vatb golfer $url3tlder Smgh . h(Jf1dcn and dalfghre,··in-!QW ,'(a,~k8S!lIInPatel

The Intem",ion~llndl~n

Palel with Deutsche Ban, offiCIals al II ger logerl,er a( his resiaence

What was once a one truck show way back in the 60's, today,boasts over 1000 vehicles. Considered one of the most profession ..ally organized service groups In India, the group turnover exceedsRupees 500 crores a year. Today, the House of Patels has becomea symbol of trust - a company people can rely upon. With over 600branches and a workforce of over 5000 people, Patel Roadwaysboasts a multinational clientele like Gtaxo, Unilever, upton, ParkeDavis and Brooke Bond, to name a few, and more than 50.000other clients spread across the length and breadth of India. Thecompany als.ooffers a total corporate logistics package which pro-vides an integrated single-window service from the shop floor toretail outlets throughout the country. Investment in IT and state-of-the-art tracking systems, coupled with containerization of its entirefleet. halps the company to maintain a winning edg~ over the com-petition while continL/aUyoffering enhanced and value-added ser-vices to the industry.

Patel Onboard Couriers Ud was a continuation of the truck-ing business Asgar was in already. Today the company controlsmore than 70 per cent of the domestic market, carrying 60,000kgs of courier material on over 85 flights every day. This includesinternational flights too. Through strategic links with other lead-ing wholesale couriers worldwide, the POC network spans theIndian subcontinent, Europe. North America, the Middle East andSoutheast Asia. The company also operates two lATA-approveddivisions - Patel Air Freight that provides domestic and interna-tional air cargo services white Patel Tours & Travels offers alltravel related services. Travel and tourism has become a focusarea with the company having received a full fledged MoneyChangers License to deal in foreign ourrencv and traveller'scheques, Now the move is towards recognition as a travel houseby combinmg its ticke lng, tourism and forex operations.

In 1982 Asgar got his first taste of the Arabian Gulf. On a tripback from the USA via Dubai he reslissd the importance of set-ting up a base abroad for money remittance for NRls in Duoai.Thus Wall Street Exchan.ge Centre LLC was born to exploit thethriving rnonev changing and remhtance market in tile MiddleEast. Today, Dubai has become the home base for Asgar and isthe flagship of a fleet of exchange bureau spanning Europe. theMiddle East and Southeast Asia. Wallstreet Exchange Centre has

Cowr~~ .

also positioned usef as a major banknotes dealer In the Gulf with drawingarrangemen s with some very powerfuland novel banks in the Sub-Continent,Europe and America. Today there are 8branches In the UAE, 24 branches in Indiaand 4 branches in Hong Kong and 4offices in New York, London, Hong Kongand Dubai.

Its relationship with top banks inBangladesh, Sri Lanka, India, Nepal. Egyptand Philippines is completely geared tohelp the expatriate communities of selectcountries in money transfer, foreignexchange, remittances and travellerscheques. WSEC is one of the most trust-ed and relied upon exchange houses inthe Gulf. Branches are established allaround the UAE plus affiliate offices inHong Kong, U.K., India & Pakistan to ser-vice customers faster. Also the ExchangeCentre has correspondent relationshipsWith prime banks throughout the worlde.g. Natwest, Credit SUisse, DeutscheBank, etc. including India, Sri Lanka,Bangladesh, Pakistan and the Philippines.They also have direct arrangements withprime banks in UK, Japan, Germany.Saudi Arabia, Philippines, Nepal,Hongkong, Switzerland and Bahrain.

When asked why he diversified intomoney exchange. Asgar has an interest-ing answer. "We used to carry cargo,first. now we carry money. The mode has-n't really changed, so in that context wedidn't really diversify. First we earneddrafts. then we couriered them. and nowit's a remote draft. Only the method haschanged and as the days go by technolo-gy helps us in easing the problems associ-ated With money exchanqe."

Asgar recalls his early days in Dubai

.V

. S081 Pmel. CEO A~ho, Kaf!Q01 ".'1<1 Jose' '1Ge'I!91e or Bank of MOl treai

A get log@therhosted in banou: of the Deutscn« Sank offiCIals et Petet's restaence

I\1r Pat'JI, SOOPi! KiI<}n, L<lvit(J Tenq IInd Tariq Ci>auhsn

when the late Rule of Duba' HH SheikhRashid bin Saeed AI Maktoum, was soaccessible. He remembers how SheikhRashid used to walk on the beach inJumerrah and people would come to himand consult him with their problems. Itwas thiS easy parlance with Dubai'sVisionary ruler that helped Asgar grow hisbusiness In the Middle East

1986 saw the birth of Wall StreetFinance Umited, a public limited con panyoffering the entire gamut of financial ser-vices like fixed depcsits. leasing, hire pur-chase. auto finance, oortfolio manage-ment and bill discounting. The companywas also granted the Category 1Merc ant Banking status by SEBI andoffers merchant banking services to theindustry. It 'Alas also the first company inIndia to be given a full-fledged MoneyChangers license by the R.B.L and is nowoperating in 16 Centres nation-wide as afull-fledged Money Changer and has beengranted additional Ilcenses at aU interna-tional airports With two mobile licenses.The company has also received corporateme,"bership of the Vadodara StockExchange and is in the process of floating

a subsidiary for brokinq activities. Anexcellent track record of growth and a trailblazing record of resource mobiiisationhas been the hallmark 01 Wall I StreetFinance ltd which generates an annualturnover of about Rs 2000 million.

Further growth plans envisage thecompany setting up subSidiaries for bul-lion import and distribution on behalf ofSwiss banks and the business of foreignexchange advisory services to Importersand exporters within the country. With atie up with foreign banks, the company isalso in a position to assist exporters andimporters in obt<lining financial assistancetor their fund requirements.

Asger has always moved with thetimes recognlsing the need to modernizeand stay In touch With the latest happen-ings around the world. The ExchangeCenter is the only exchange company inthe Middle East to have two IBM AS400machines that provide the ultima' e insecurity and trouble free transactions toits customers.

.:

Gladson Rcnad IS tb ASSIstant Edttor of TII.