Nepalese billionaire Binod Chaudhary reiterates trust and confidence in Sri Lanka despite turbulence

Colombo Sri Lanka:

When Nepalese billionaire Binod Chaudhary first made a significant investment in 2001 in the iconic Taj Samudra Colombo through a joint venture with Indian Hotels Corporation Limited (IHCL), it was in the middle of Sri Lanka’s debilitating war. While other investors were unwilling to consider any investment, Chaudhary saw opportunity in the war-torn country, a gesture appreciated not just by the government at the time, but the industry at large. This investment was also Chaudhary’s first ever foray into the hospitality industry, which today has a partnership with IHCL across 11 properties in 06 countries.”At this moment, Sri Lanka is going through very tough times and struggling to mobilise foreign funds and investments even through the IMF,” deduces Chaudhary. “Banks are under tremendous pressure as are the borrowers.

And yet again despite all these economic setbacks, we have decided to take a plunge into Sri Lanka. We know it’s going to be tough, but that’s the extent of confidence and our deep-rooted close ties with Sri Lanka,” he said of his investment into the eighth largest listed bank in Sri Lanka.

Chaudhary, who has been featured in the Forbes Billionaire’s Rich List since 2013 has a long-standing friendship with Sri Lanka. The initial foray into the Taj Samudra led Chaudhary to invest in twelve other properties in partnership with Jetwing Hotels Group and Ceylon Hotels Corporation. With the acquisition of the majority shares in UBC, the Group makes its maiden foray into the financial services industry in Sri Lanka. CG is also the largest shareholder in Nabil Bank, which is currently the largest bank in Nepal’s private sector, post its recent acquisition of Nepal Bangladesh Bank.

The acquisition of 70.84% shares in UBC is via CG Capital Partners, a private equity company incorporated in Singapore under the umbrella of CG Corp Global. When the transaction was announced to the Colombo Stock Exchange on the 1st of December 2022, the Bank’s share gained 13.3% to close at LKR 8.50. UBC is among Sri Lanka’s twelve listed banks with a market capitalization of LKR 9.1 billion.