The-Polyester-Prince

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gambles against rises and falls in prices at time of delivery Doing business on one’sown account was strictly forbidden to Besse employees by the terms of theircontract, and his older brother Ramnikbhai disapproved, so Dhirubhai would simplysay he was ‘studying the market’.Dhirubhai made some profits, and learned the fundamentals of business and money.But he also made some near disastrous mistakes, which almost wiped out his capital.On one occasion he suffered a tight financial squeeze when an incoming cargo ofsugar was damaged by sea-water and his customer refused to accept deliveryPending settlement of his insurance claim, Dhirubhai had to pass the hat amongBesse colleagues for loans to bail himself out.One particular ally was a Besse employee named Jamnadas Sakerchand Depala, arelative by marriage, who lent Dhirubhai 5000 shillings on this occasion. Depala wasclose to Dhirubhai and the two usually had lunch together, even after Dhirubhai hadmarried. It was an odd relationship, another attraction of opposites. Depala was nota worldly man and lent money again to Dhirubhai for his ‘market studies’, but had astrong influence nonetheless. Jamnadas was morally in control of Dhirubhai,’s saidSusheel Kothari, who had been in the same bachelors mess with Dhirubhai. ‘IfDhirubhai was drinking too much, no one else could stop him. He just swear at them.Kokilaben used to call Jamnadas and Dhirubhai would listen to him.’s According toone version of events, Jamnadas made considerable sacrifices for Dhirubhai. On oneoccasion, so this story goes, Jamnadas and Dhirubhai were reported to Bessemanagement for their private deals, and got suspended from service. Jamnadas tookresponsibility and resigned from service, allowing Dhirubhai to complete the sevenyear’s service that earned him the right of residence in Aden.Another story told by ex-Besse staff is that, after leaving the company, Jamnadascontinued to invest in rice and sugar deals masterminded by Dhirubhai, and lostheavily, to the point of losing most of his capital. Jagani remembers Jamnadas beingvery depressed around 1961. Whatever the truth of this, Dhirubhai continued to actas though he was in debt to Jamnadas. Some years later, Jamnadas came back toIndia and was given a shop selling textiles for Dhirubhai. After a while Jamnadasstopped coming to work, but Dhirubhai saw that his salary was paid until his death in1987.Dhirubhai left Aden in 1958, with his seven years service and right of residencyas a fallback, to try his hand in business back in India.<strong>The</strong> house of Besse lasted only another nine years, as long as British rule in Aden,which was being eroded by the sandblast of pan-Arabic nationalism. Some of thetransistor radios sold at Steamer Point found their way to the villagers of the Yemenhinterland, who picked up President Nasser’s message of Arab nationalism throughRadio Cairo.Resulting hit-and-run attacks by rival liberation fronts made Aden unsafe forforeigners. In the second half of 1967, British forces pulled back into an evertighteningperimeter until the rearguard was lifted out by helicopter to a naval taskforce offshore on 29 November 1967.<strong>The</strong> territory fell unconditionally to the National Liberation Front. It applied its harshversion of Marxism-Leninism, abolishing private property and nationalising mostforeign companies. By then the closure of the Suez Canal in the 1967 Arab-Israelwar had cut Aden’s bunkering business. Racked by periodic coup attempts and warswith northern Yemen, the new state of South Yemen became an economic back-
water and haven for international terrorists-a modern version of the pirates’ lair theBritish first subdued. Besse &- Co was among the companies appropriated by thenew regime. From retirement in France, former director Peter Besse wrote in 1996that the last trading empire ...of my father collapsed on the arrival of various “PeopleDemocratic Republic” governments. Today nothing is left.
Page 2: AcknowledgementsIntroduction: an in
Page 7 and 8: several years. I sent off some clip
Page 9 and 10: esearch led me into all corners of
Page 11 and 12: A PERSUASIVE YOUNG BANIAAmong all t
Page 13 and 14: proportion of these from Kathiawar.
Page 15 and 16: looked far beyond their immediate p
Page 17 and 18: which involved boycotting imported
Page 19 and 20: One of the students was a fellow Mo
Page 21 and 22: The outpost had been a punishment s
Page 23: As he developed more familiarity wi
Page 27 and 28: Junagadh named Rathibhai Muchhala a
Page 29 and 30: eing ‘suite luxurious’ compared
Page 31 and 32: Dhirubhai was again lucky in that,
Page 33 and 34: A FIRST-CLASS FOUNTAINDhirubhai Amb
Page 35 and 36: minority government in 1996, and se
Page 37 and 38: Corporation of India. Soon afterwar
Page 39 and 40: Over two years in the early 1970s,
Page 41 and 42: captive market. The ‘Eleven Day W
Page 43 and 44: GURU OF THE EQUITY CULTIndira Gandh
Page 45 and 46: politicisation of the machinery Fro
Page 47 and 48: By the end of 1986, Dhirubhai was t
Page 49 and 50: Reliance made sure that a comment b
Page 51 and 52: half-hour of panic just before the
Page 53 and 54: politicians and bureaucrats. ‘It
Page 55 and 56: Friends in the right PlacesThis was
Page 57 and 58: act of parliament as far back as 19
Page 59 and 60: control, and a very long and favour
Page 61 and 62: in the Telegraph’s leader. Facing
Page 63 and 64: In December 1983, Dhirubhai had hos
Page 65 and 66: Pydhonic to sell his polyester and
Page 67 and 68: give money to political parties. We
Page 69 and 70: estimated demand of 80 000 tonnes o
Page 71 and 72: support the big investment in domes
Page 73 and 74: others. Orkay was accused of pledgi
Page 75 and 76:
corruption. On the backs of ordinar
Page 77 and 78:
Financial Express, had carried both
Page 79 and 80:
constant ridicule and demonisation.
Page 81 and 82:
inquiries overseas, the little-trav
Page 83 and 84:
conversion was allowed, the holding
Page 85 and 86:
The company’s shares had already
Page 87 and 88:
In a four-part article published ov
Page 89 and 90:
The case against Reliance had been
Page 91 and 92:
companies, possibly to help strengt
Page 93 and 94:
Nusli Wadia’s children). Pandit b
Page 95 and 96:
carrying a relentless, campaign of
Page 97 and 98:
The committee asked Reliance at lea
Page 99 and 100:
To clinch a prosecution under the F
Page 101 and 102:
operators of the Indian havala trad
Page 103 and 104:
While the law enforcers were closin
Page 105 and 106:
the obligatory disclosures in the p
Page 107 and 108:
On 5 December, the Central Excise a
Page 109 and 110:
LETTING LOOSE A SCORPIONDhirubhai A
Page 111 and 112:
identified himself as an inquiry ag
Page 113 and 114:
But the CBI’s two investigating o
Page 115 and 116:
had been booked into the hotel unde
Page 117 and 118:
dismissing Rajiv and appointing ano
Page 119 and 120:
extended and gruelling interrogatio
Page 121 and 122:
BUSINESS AS USUALDhirubhai Ambani w
Page 123 and 124:
udget for the year starting April 1
Page 125 and 126:
asket from UTI (by value) were Lars
Page 127 and 128:
on the Financial Times of London. A
Page 129 and 130:
1988, two allied activists, journal
Page 131 and 132:
But just as the opposing forces see
Page 133 and 134:
had continued social meetings with
Page 135 and 136:
they recorded Babaria calling Kirti
Page 137 and 138:
arrests on 1 August. When a reporte
Page 139 and 140:
After the initial appearance of Kir
Page 141 and 142:
Though he could not avert the storm
Page 143 and 144:
Dhirubhai’s new newspaper, launch
Page 145 and 146:
and indifferent to the bloodshed in
Page 147 and 148:
temple at Ayodhya, he put off the f
Page 149 and 150:
arriving at Rajiv’s heavily guard
Page 151 and 152:
Securities and Exchange Board of In
Page 153 and 154:
The shouting continued for half an
Page 155 and 156:
The 1991-92 boom helped Dhirubhai q
Page 157 and 158:
Because of this burden, any other n
Page 159 and 160:
the proceeds of the previous Euro-i
Page 161 and 162:
The telephone licences covered near
Page 163 and 164:
HOUSEKEEPING SECRETSOn 29 November
Page 165 and 166:
compliant bank to give in return fo
Page 167 and 168:
According to sources close to the M
Page 169 and 170:
Merrill Lynch. Jain had meanwhile c
Page 171 and 172:
put on its screens. On 29 November,
Page 173 and 174:
1992 into the tax evasion aspects o
Page 175 and 176:
At least one former fund manager, a
Page 177 and 178:
and avoids a prosecution in court.
Page 179 and 180:
Reliance could no longer look eithe
Page 181 and 182:
other hand, the ANZ Grindlays bank
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The-Polyester-Prince

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