Billionaire businessman Rizwan Sajan has revealed there are currently no plans to further expand his Danube empire.
Sajan was speaking at the annual Arabian Business Start-up Forum where he gave a keynote address on the success of his company, from a small start-up in a trading office in Deira in 1993 to the huge Danube Group of today.
Danube Group is made up of Danube Building Materials, Danube Home, Danube Properties, Milano and Alucopanel Middle East.
Earlier this year, the company launched Danube Hospitality Solutions, a $5 million arm catering to the growing hospitality needs of the region.
However, Sajan told the audience at the event in Waldorf Astoria, The Palm, the company’s vision for the next three years would be more “consolidation” rather than expansion.
He said: “This is not the time for expansion, I’d rather consolidate. Definitely we will be launching one or two projects, but nothing major. I would much rather my bottom line remains intact and my top line I don’t have to worry about.”
Experience
Sajan revealed his early business life, how he moved from Mumbai to work with his uncle in Kuwait, fleeing the country upon the invasion by Saddam Hussein and then moving to Dubai.
In reference to the launch of his own Danube Group, he warned business owners of the future to gain experience first before launching.
He said: “If you wanted to do something like this, you would need first to have the experience. If you have the working experience then yes it can happen to you.
“I had eight years working with my uncle in Kuwait and then I worked in Dubai.
“The experience I had allowed me to plan what would work and what would not work and that experience was very important.”
Ease of business
Sajan also paid tribute to the ease of doing business in the UAE.
He added: “The UAE is the best place to work. If I have to work in my own country there’s a lot of bureaucracy, but here you don’t have the bureaucracy, you can start straight away.
“Plus the UAE has a very friendly economy where you can start your business with just AED150,000, they can arrange for your trade license in Sharjah and you can get started.
“It is one of the best countries to start any business. The opportunities that you have are incredible.”
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