Indian origin woman ‘Nishita Shah’ in Thailand’s richest list

A 28-year-old Indian origin businesswoman has made it to the list of the 40 richest people in Thailand compiled by the Forbes magazine.

Nishita Shah, managing director of diversified GP Group, and her family are ranked 19th with a net worth of $375 million. At 28, she is the youngest among the richest in the Southeast Asian country.

A citation for her by the US business magazine says Shah is the biggest shareholder and director in dry-bulk shipper Precious Shipping, founded by her father Kirit. A licensed pilot, Shah is single and also runs a clothier company called Burn Baby and is launching her own fashion label, Nsha, in three continents at the end of the year.

Leading the Forbes list is beverage maker Chaleo Yoovidhya with a net worth of $4 billion, followed by beermaker Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi ($3.9 billion), and the Chirathivat family ($2.8 billion), who have interests in retail, property and hotels.

Former Thailand prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra returns to the list at 16th place with his family with a net worth of $400 million. He was ousted as premier in a 2006 coup, and avoided corruption charges by moving to Britain.

Thai authorities froze $2 billion in assets, largely from his family’s sale of Shin Corp, the telecom company he founded. He bought Britain’s Manchester City football club in 2007 and returned to Bangkok in February after the election of a pro-Thaksin government.

Courtesy :- Yahoo

Oberoi hotels among top three in Asia, six in world

Hospitality major Oberoi Group’s three hotels have been ranked as the best three in entire Asia and among the top six in the world by the Travel Plus Leisure World’s Best Awards 2008.

The Oberoi Rajvilas of Jaipur, The Oberoi Udaivilas of Udaipur and the Oberoi Amarvilas of Agra have been ranked as the first, second and third best, respectively, among Asian hotels in the Travel Plus Leisure awards, The Oberoi Group said in a statement.

“I am delighted and proud of these rankings…We are very encouraged and this news should bring more visitors to India,” The Oberoi Group Chairman P R S Oberoi said.

The Oberoi Rajvilas, The Oberoi Udaivilas and The Oberoi Amarvilas have also been selected as the second, fourth and sixth best ranking hotels in the world by the magazine, the statement added.

“Last year, our hotels had secured very good ratings. However, this year’s performance has been even better,” Oberoi said.

In 2007, The Oberoi Udaivilas was ranked top in the world and in Asia, while The Oberoi Amarvilas was third in Asia and tenth in the world and The Oberoi Rajvilas was eleventh in the world and fourth in Asia, the company said.

The Travel Plus Leisure annual awards by leading global travel magazine Travel Plus Leisure is considered among the major rankings in the international travel industry.

The ranking has been done on the basis of a readers’ poll conducted by the magazine where readers define excellence in travel by rating their experiences and evaluating hotels across the world.

The evaluation is done on the basis of characteristics ranging from rooms, facilities, location, service, restaurants, food and value, the statement added.

Courtesy :- EconomicTimes