Hari Naroomal Harilela, (10 August 1922 – 29 December 2014) was a Hong Kong Indian businessman,
hotelier
A hotel manager, hotelier, or lodging manager is a person who manages the operation of a hotel, motel, resort, or other lodging-related establishment. Management of a hotel operation includes, but is not limited to management of hotel staff, bu ...
and philanthropist and the founder and chairman of the Harilela Group. The group runs businesses ranging from hotel and real estate investment to import and export trading. He was often dubbed the richest Indian in Hong Kong.
Background
Hari Harilela was born in Hyderabad,
British India
The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...
in 1922. His father Naroomal Lilaram Mirchandani (later renamed Naraindas Harilela) was the first of the family to venture to Hong Kong and Canton in search of his fortune and opened an antique shop there. Later, on receiving the news that his mother was very ill in Sindh, he rushed to India and was devastated to learn that his mother had just died upon his return. His family, without waiting for him, had already cremated her. Deeply hurt, he renounced the family name of Mirchandani and created his own surname by joining the names of his parents, Haribai and Lelaram. Thus was born the name Harilela.
Harilela moved to Canton with his mother and two brothers in 1930 to join his father, at the time his father owned various buildings and homes throughout China until repercussions of the
Great Depression
The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
greatly damaged his business. The family once again found financial success selling fair-priced and high quality textile products to British soldiers during the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
.
Business career
Harilela began a tailoring business in Hong Kong, opening a clothing and tailoring shop and then pioneered the idea of supplying custom-made suits by mail order. During his early life, he would act as mediator to settle disputes between Indian families. In 1959, Harilela realised the mail order boom is a temporary phase. So he diversified into real estate and moved into the hotel business, starting the Harilela Group with his brothers George and Peter in 1959.
By 2014, the group owns 19 major hotels in Hong Kong, including the Holiday Inn Golden Mile and the Intercontinental Grand Stanford, both in
Kowloon
Kowloon () is an urban area in Hong Kong comprising the Kowloon Peninsula and New Kowloon. With a population of 2,019,533 and a population density of in 2006, it is the most populous area in Hong Kong, compared with Hong Kong Island and t ...
, as well as various others across Asia, two in Canada and one in London. The Harilela Group of hotels in the Asia-Pacific region includes properties in Hong Kong,
Macau
Macau or Macao (; ; ; ), officially the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (MSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China in the western Pearl River Delta by the South China Sea. With a pop ...
, Singapore, Penang,
Bangkok
Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estima ...
and Sydney.
In 2012, Harilela stepped down as chairman but remained the honorary chairman until his death. Harilela's son Aron replaced him as the group's chairman.
Public services
Harilela was highly regarded in the local Indian community. He had a great voice in the government on numerous ethnic minority issues and colonial governors and chief executives consulted Harilela. Harilela was also close friends with two former
Chief Executives
A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...
,
Tung Chee-hwa
Tung Chee-hwa (; born 7 July 1937) is a Hong Kong businessman and politician who served as the first Chief Executive of Hong Kong between 1997 and 2005, upon the transfer of sovereignty on 1 July. He is currently a vice-chairman of the Chin ...
and
Donald Tsang Yam-kuen
Sir Donald Tsang Yam-kuen (; born 7 October 1944) is a former Hong Kong civil servant who served as the second Chief Executive of Hong Kong from 2005 to 2012.
Tsang joined the colonial civil service as an Executive Officer in 1967, occupyin ...
.
He was appointed member of the
Hong Kong Basic Law Consultative Committee
The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Basic Law Consultative Committee (BLCC; 香港基本法諮詢委員會) was an official body established in 1985 to canvass views in Hong Kong on the drafts of the Hong Kong Basic Law.
Background
The f ...
in 1985 and later appointed
Hong Kong Affairs Advisor
Hong Kong Affairs Advisers () were appointed by the Chinese government after the last Governor of Hong Kong, Chris Patten carried out his electoral reform in the British Hong Kong, in the eve of the handover of the sovereignty of the city-state fr ...
to the Government of the People's Republic of China in the 1990s. He was the
Honorary Consul
A consul is an official representative of the government of one state in the territory of another, normally acting to assist and protect the citizens of the consul's own country, as well as to facilitate trade and friendship between the people ...
of
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He was member of the Hong Kong Chamber of Commerce, the most influential business chamber in the territory, Through the chamber he was elected the Hong Kong SAR
Election Committee
The Election Committee is a Hong Kong electoral college, the function of which is to select the Chief Executive (CE) and, since 2021, to elect 40 of the 90 members of the Legislative Council. Established by Annex I of the Basic Law of Hong ...
from 1996 to 2006 for the
Commercial (First)
The Commercial (First) functional constituency () is a functional constituency in the elections for the Legislative Council of Hong Kong first created in 1985. The constituency is composed of corporate members of the Hong Kong General Chamber o ...
sector, which was responsible for electing the Chief Executive of Hong Kong. He was also adviser of the
Business and Professionals Federation of Hong Kong
The Business and Professionals Federation of Hong Kong (, abbreviated 工商專聯; BPF) is a non-partisan think tank in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China.
Mission
The mission BPF is:
* to help enhan ...
.
Harilela was also a Life Regent at
Pepperdine University
Pepperdine University () is a private research university affiliated with the Churches of Christ with its main campus in Los Angeles County, California. Pepperdine's main campus consists of 830 acres (340 ha) overlooking the Pacific Ocean and t ...
in the United States, and was an Honorary Court Member of the
Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) is a public research university in Clear Water Bay Peninsula, New Territories, Hong Kong. Founded in 1991 by the British Hong Kong Government, it was the territory's third institution ...
.
Philanthropy
The Padma & Hari Harilela Lecture Theatres, with seating capacities of 250 and 150 respectively, were named in honour of the Harilelas in recognition of a HK$5 million donation to the
Hong Kong Baptist University
Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU) is a publicly funded tertiary liberal arts education, liberal arts institution with a Christian ethics, Christian education heritage. It was established as Hong Kong Baptist College with the support of Ame ...
.
Hong Kong University of Science and Technology receives HK$5M donation from Dr Hari N Harilela to Enhance Teaching & Research Excellence. The lecture hall C (LT-C) was named "The Padma & Hari Harilela Lecture Theatres" in honour of the donation.
Family and personal life
Harilela was the patriarch of the Harilela family with about 80 members. The family lives in a 40-bedroom
mansion
A mansion is a large dwelling house. The word itself derives through Old French from the Latin word ''mansio'' "dwelling", an abstract noun derived from the verb ''manere'' "to dwell". The English word '' manse'' originally defined a property l ...
in
Kowloon Tong
Kowloon Tong () is an area of Hong Kong located in Kowloon. The majority of the area is in the Kowloon City District. Its exaclocationis south of the Lion Rock, north of Boundary Street, east of the East Rail line and west of Grampian Road. It i ...
, with the next generation living in a connecting house.
He was member of the
Hong Kong Jockey Club
The Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC) is one of the oldest institutions in Hong Kong, having been founded in 1884. In 1959, it was granted a Royal Charter and renamed The Royal Hong Kong Jockey Club (). The institution reverted to its original name ...
.
Harilela died early morning on 29 December 2014 at his Kowloon Tong home surrounded by family at the age of 92. He is surrounded by his wife Padma, son Aron, daughters Nina, Anita and Shakun. More than 100 members of his extended family, including his two surviving brothers and one sister live in the Kowloon Tong mansion.
Honours
He was made
Justice of the Peace
A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...
in 1963 and was awarded the
Officer of the Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations,
and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
. He received the
Gold Bauhinia Star
The Gold Bauhinia Star (, GBS) is the highest Bauhinia Star rank in the honours system of Hong Kong, created in 1997 to replace the British honours system of the Order of the British Empire after the transfer of sovereignty to People's Republic of ...
in 2000 and the
Grand Bauhinia Medal
The Grand Bauhinia Medal () is the highest award under the Hong Kong honours and awards system; it is to recognise the selected person's lifelong and highly significant contribution to the well-being of Hong Kong. The awardee is entitled to the ...
in 2009.
He was also a recipient of the
Pravasi Bharatiya Samman
The Pravasi Bharatiya Samman (Overseas Indian Honour/Award) is the highest Indian award for Non-resident Indian and Overseas Citizen of India or an organisation or institution established and run by Non-Resident Indians or Persons of Indian Orig ...
from the Government of India. Harilela won a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 4th Annual Asia Pacific Hotel Industry Investment Conference on 27 March 2001.
See also
*
Indians in Hong Kong
South Asians are part of the Hong Kong society. As of the 2016 by-census, there were at least 44,744 persons of South Asian descent in Hong Kong. Many trace their roots in Hong Kong as far back as when India was still under British colonial rule ...