London, Nov 30: NRI industrialist Lord Swraj Paul has said his controversial investment in DCM and Escorts during the pre-liberalisation era in the 1980s helped "awaken" shareholders to their rights. "My investment in DCM and Escorts were probably the most controversial happening in Indian business history. The most serious move by them was to refuse to register the shares I purchased. In the end, I think the experience helped awaken the shareholders to their rights," he said in an interview to a Mumbai magazine.
The DCM takeover bid by the London-based steel tycoon in the early 80s was among the first such incident which was widely opposed by top Indian industrialists, which subsequently came to be known as the 'Bombay Club'.
In a trip down memory lane, the 72-year old chairman of the transnational Coparo group said starting in a new country, Britain, was never easy.
"If you are ethnic, you have got to be 120 per cent to be counted as 100 per cent. It is a challenge to any person who is ethnic, in any country," he said.
Paul, who is a member of Britain's House of Lords and chancellor of Wolverhampton University, said he never felt "mistreated because of my colour."
Bureau Report