Real Estate Chandigarh

Residential and Commercial properties in Chandigarh..

12 November 2006

A billion-dollar dream come true

AT 21, he was probably Canada’s youngest Indian-Canadian millionaire. At 41, he is close to becoming Canada’s first Sikh billionaire.
"Yes, I will be Canada’s first Sikh billionaire," laughs this self-made man, sitting in his suite at Four Seasons’ Hotel in Toronto.
What is his business philosophy? "We specialise in ownership of apartment buildings. We buy rundown, badly managed buildings, improve their interior and exterior, introduce advanced systems to bring down operating costs and then rent them out at higher rates. We are consolidating the mid-market apartments. Our business may not make sense from the Indian perspective where you can never throw out a tenant. Here it is a free market and we can throw out the tenant any day."

Ten years ago, Dhillon bought a 2,300-acre island in Belize (Central America). "I am developing it into a world-class tourist resort, with hotels, golf clubs, casinos, condominiums, high-end houses and other facilities. Among my neighbours are Madonna, and Leonardo DiCaprio. The island has pristine beaches and the world’s second biggest barrier reef. For my work, Belize Prime Minister Said Mussa appointed me their honorary consul-general in Canada seven years ago," says Dhillon, who was also honoured as the Businessman of the Year in 2004 by the Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce.

The booming India, he says, is on his radar. "My younger brother has successfully launched a venture capitalist fund in Mumbai and I am planning an Indian real estate fund to develop colonies in India. I am always tuned in to India as I have a lot of relatives in Chandigarh and Patiala. My parents spend their winters in Chandigarh. Kewal Dhillon, vice-president of the Punjab unit of the Congress, is my cousin. I am attached to my Sikh faith, and I have a special spiritual connection with Sai Baba. I also read Osho a lot."

The multi-millionaire Sikh ends on a warning note. "India should be quick to tap its NRI diaspora as China has done, financially, and intellectually. Look at Wall Street...it has 25 per cent Indian kids...India has a huge potential. Again, the euphoria of boom is fine, but I am worried about the 50 per cent population of India which is below 25. Unless you streamline your policies, you may have a revolution on your hands. Because these guys have grown up watching MTV as the Coca Cola Generation, and they will make demands on the system. And where are the jobs for them?"
Is anybody listening?

Source :// tribuneindia.com
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