Indian acquires six percent stake in Spanish bank

Friday, 10 October 2003, 19:30 IST
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NEW YORK: An India-born businessman has acquired a six percent stake in Bankinter SA for $146 million to emerge as the second largest investor in Spain's sixth largest bank, reports here say. Ram Bhavnani now has authorisation from Bank of Spain to raise his stake to 9.9 percent, which would make him the largest shareholder. The 59-year-old businessman -- who immigrated to Hong Kong from Mumbai before being sent by his father-in-law to rescue a faltering business in Tenerife in Spain's Canary Islands northwest of Africa -- was featured by The Wall Street Journal. The Journal said the investment in Bankinter was Bhavnani's latest bid for acceptance into the inner circle of Spanish business, where many of the biggest companies are controlled by powerful families and intricate network of cross-holdings. Quoting Bhavnani, the majority owner of Casa Kishoo SA, an import business in Tenerife, the report said he was waiting to be offered a seat at Bankinter's board, which is controlled by the Boltin banking dynasty. The Journal said Bhavnani came to Canary Islands when he was just 21, being sent by his father-in-law to turn around Casa Kishoo, which he did successfully. Bhavnani graduated from a school near Mumbai. He then worked for a Sindhi expatriate in Hong Kong and married his daughter. In Canary Islands, he built good relations with local banks, took out loans to import goods and started investing in the Spanish stock market in 1986, the Journal said. He was a net buyer during the 1987 stock market crash and after sustaining losses in the next crash of 2000 and 2001, he bounced back this year, the report added. Among the windfalls listed in the report were the acquisition of a 10 percent stake in Banco Zaragozano SA, which he subsequently sold for $137 million to make a net profit of $65 million. The report said his family has a couple of investment portfolios, which are managed by professional asset managers and also owns a string of hotels in Canary Islands, bringing his total wealth to over $280 million. Yet he continues to work from his desk at Casa Kishoo, behind counters laden with cheap clothing and electronic goods imported primarily from China.
Source: IANS
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