Raghuvinder Kataria, fondly known as Raghu, likes to keep a low profile both personally and in business. But growing up in a small township in Uganda, he had a burning desire to do something big in life.
Every year during holidays, he interned in a different industry using his father’s contacts. He pursued his higher education in the UK, qualifying as a chartered accountant and started his first job with International Computers Limited (ICL) in London. Over 17 years he became treasurer for Europe. When ICL was acquired by Standard Telephones & Cables (STC) it wanted to sell a cable business in Thailand but the funding structure in Thailand was different, meaning STC lost interest.
Kataria pursued the business himself y laying deep-sea fibre-optic cables, raising funds from a merchant bank and local Thai banks. His company Jasmine Telecom soon became a success and in 1990 Goldman Sachs took it public.
After many years in the UK, India, Thailand and Uganda, he moved to the UAE, and today has a net worth of $2.1bn, with investments handled via Kataria Holdings, which has a global reach, focussing on infrastructure projects, as well as education, financial services and real estate in the Middle East and Indian subcontinent.
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