| Type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Conglomerate |
| Founded | 1900 |
| Headquarters | Mumbai, India |
| Products | Manufacturing, Agriculture, Finance, Sugar, Horticulture, Cement, Plastics, Alcohol, Insurance, Consulting, Industrial Machinery |
| Total assets | US$350+ million |
| Employees | 15,000+ (2008) |
| Website | Mehtagroup.com |
The Mehta Group of Companies commonly referred to as the Mehta Group is a conglomerate based in Mumbai, India with subsidiaries in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Kenya and Uganda. The group employs in excess of 15,000 people worldwide and has an asset base in excess of US$350 million, as of April 2009.[1] The group's businesses include investments in sugar, cement, packaging, floriculture, engineering, cables, consulting, management, insurance, International Trade and International Finance.[2]
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The group owes its foundation to Nanji Kalidas Mehta (1887 - 1969). He was born in India in the late 19th Century. In 1900, at the age of 13 years, he migrated to Uganda and started a series of businesses that included a tea plantation, a cotton ginnery, a sugarcane plantation and a sugar factory.
During the 1930s, having established himself in Uganda, Mehta began operations in India. He set up a textile mill and ginning factory in Porbandar, Gujarat, and a trading company in Bombay. Later, a cement plant (Saurashtra Cement Limited) was established in 1956.
In 1972, Idi Amin, then leader of Uganda, expelled all Asians from the country; all of the group's Ugandan possession were surrendered, many to the government-controlled Uganda Development Corporation.[3] The group concentrated on their non-African businesses; setting up a consultancy in India and a plastics plant in Canada becoming a truly International conglomerate during the 1970s. In 1979, Amin was removed from power and the group was invited back into Uganda to repossess their assets.
During the 1980s the Agrima Consultancy wing of the group expanded to Ethiopia, Cameroon, Sudan, Burundi, Nigeria, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Myanmar. The group rehabilitated all their Ugandan businesses during this period. A second cement plant was started in India; the Gujarat Sidhee Cement Limited.
During the 1990s the group entered the financial area by establishing Transafrica Assurance Company Limited. During this period, the cement factories in India were expanded and modernized.[4]
The companies of the Mehta Group include, but are not limited to the following: [5]
