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From $7 to an Indian business empire in UAE

Mridula Krishna in Dubai

He came to the United Arab Emirates from India more than 25 years ago with just $7 in his pocket and a big bank loan to repay. Today he has a huge business empire ranging from medical to financial services.

India-born Bavaguthu Raghuram Shetty is now planning to set up a $20-million pharmaceutical plant in the UAE capital Abu Dhabi.

Shetty says he moved to Abu Dhabi in 1973 with a huge loan to repay and got a job as pharmaceutical company representative. He hasn't looked back since then.

In the 1970s when he came to the UAE, the country was using its newfound oil wealth to build up the economy, which to Shetty spelt many opportunities. He realised healthcare services in the UAE would boom in the years to come and took a plunge in that direction.

Shetty's New Medical Centre is one of the largest private hospital and pharmacy chains in the UAE. It has hospitals in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah and handles 2,000 patients a day.

He said the NMC started out with just three employees in 1975. Today, hospitals under its wing employ more than 120 resident doctors, specialising in different fields, and more than 250 paramedical and other staff.

He said: "I started with a small pharmacy in Abu Dhabi and secured credit from the market for stocks. I employed three people to dispense medicines. Slowly, I established an agency for more medical companies. Once I got the agency, I took on distribution."

In the retail pharmaceutical field, he runs a chain of pharmacies that includes the largest in the UAE -- the New Pharmacy LLC -- filling out some 1,000 prescriptions a day.

In the financial services sector, Shetty is the managing director of the UAE Exchange Centre. Part of the NMC group, it is the largest money exchange and remittance centre in the Gulf and has a large network of branches across the country, Oman and Kuwait.

It also has a New Gold Centre, which sells gold and diamond jewellery and has a showroom in Dubai.

The company's foray in the restaurant business is led by Foodlands, which was established in 1987. It has the distinction of catering to the US Army in the UAE during the 1990 Gulf War.

In the social services sector, Shetty is very active as the chairman of the board of governors of Abu Dhabi's Indian School, which has more than 3,500 students and just celebrated its silver jubilee.

Shetty also spearheads the new crocket stadium in Abu Dhabi and is the executive committee and selection committee member of the Emirates Cricket Board, which is the controlling body for the sport in the country.

He is also vice president of the Abu Dhabi Cricket Council and executive committee member of Abu Dhabi Cricket Club and is keenly involved in the Zayed International Cricket Stadium project at Abu Dhabi that is expected to stage international tournaments late next year.

For Shetty, the project is a dream-come-true. "The excitement is already in the air, imagine staging the first-ever official international cricket tournament at Abu Dhabi.

"The stadium will be completed around late March and will be ready as an international venue after September 2002. We are now in the process of finding a slot for the inaugural tournament."

Shetty has been one of the biggest supporters of cricket in Abu Dhabi. He has already agreed to sponsor one of the two grass grounds adjoining the international stadium.

On the manufacturing front, he produces pharmaceuticals, tin cans, diapers and bottled liquefied petroleum gas in Mumbai, Bangalore and Hyderabad.

In Bangalore, he holds an agency for Mercedes Benz automobiles distribution throughout Karnataka. In Dubai and Abu Dhabi, he also dabbles in real estate and owns star hotels. He has also set up a public relations company in Abu Dhabi.

As a member of the Overseas Indian Economic Forum and the Indian Business and Professional Group, Shetty promotes business and professional interests of the Indian diaspora in the UAE.

Shetty's social concern surfaced early in life. Aged 23, he stood up for elections for the municipal council at Udipi town in his home state Karnataka and was elected chairman of the council.

Indo-Asian News Service

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