Financial Times

Taj Hotel joint partner's 25th wedding anniversary
Former Bangladeshi president Ershad stopped en route to Colombo for celebrations
By Feizal Samath
When former Bangladeshi President Mohamed Ershad was preparing to board a flight to Colombo to attend the 25th wedding anniversary of a friend, he was stopped by the authorities and not permitted to leave Dhaka.

"He had some problem," said Binod K. Chaudhary, a suave Nepalese businessman, who with his wife had invited friends from all over the world to celebrate the occasion at the Taj Samudra hotel in Colombo.

Ershad, jailed over corruption charges and later freed, is now an opposition member of parliament. A spokesman for the Bangladeshi High Commission in Colombo confirmed that Ershad was stopped at the airport (on February 6) and prevented from leaving the country.

Chaudhary, president of the Confederation of Nepalese Industries, said he wanted to mark the event at "a home away from home - that's what I consider Sri Lanka." The Taj was picked for obvious reasons - Chaudhary has a 50 percent stake in the hotel and many other Taj Hotels.

The Nepalese magnate whose group has interests in food and beverages, electronics, cigarettes, beer, hotels, real estate and education among others, set up a joint venture with the Indian Hotels Co Ltd, Mumbai, the Taj group's owning company, after the Taj Samudra was engulfed with debt in 1996-97. "The hotel owed the banks $30 million and was in a major crisis," he said recalling how Rajiv Gujral, Vice President, International Division, Taj Group approached him with a joint venture proposal.

Taj Asia Ltd was then set up as a Hong Kong-registered company to focus on expanding Taj hotels in Asia and outside India with the Taj group and Chaudhary having an equal 50 percent stake. "We renegotiated the loans and repaid all our debts to banks at the Taj Colombo. Last year we made a profit and for the first time shareholders will get a dividend this year," he said during an interview in the lobby of the hotel last Sunday while preparing to fly to the Maldives to continue the anniversary celebration.

Chaudhary is chairman Taj Maldives Pvt Ltd, Taj Coral Reef Resort and Taj Exotica Resort & Spa, and also joint chairman Taj Asia Ltd, Taj Samudra Ltd and Taj Airport Garden. He is also a past president of the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (CNI)

The doyen of Nepalese chambers believes that Sri Lanka has great potential to grow and in spite of political crises it will grow. "To me the war is more detrimental than an internal political crisis. As long as there is no war and the ceasefire continues - that's more important than political problems," he said.

"Sri Lanka has a unique opportunity to become another Singapore. Its many strengths include having a unique geographical location, well-educated people who are religious, honest, warm and friendly. This is a great place to do business," he said.

To join in the anniversary celebrations, Chaudhary's friends came from India, Bangladesh, Nepal, the US, the Maldives and Sri Lanka and included two former ministers of tourism.

Back to Business