Mian Muhammad Mansha ( ur, میاں محمد منشاء) is a Pakistani

business magnate A business magnate, also known as a tycoon, is a person who has achieved immense wealth through the ownership of multiple lines of enterprise. The term characteristically refers to a powerful entrepreneur or investor who controls, through perso ...

and billionaire. He is the founder and CEO of the Lahore-based international conglomerate

Nishat Group Nishat Group ( ur, ) is a Pakistani multinational conglomerate company which is based in Lahore, Pakistan. The company was founded by Pakistani business magnate Mian Muhammad Yahya in 1951. Mian Muhammad Mansha is the current chairman of the gr ...

.Optimism, appetite of a billionaire
''Dawn'' (Pakistan), Published 14 October 2013. Retrieved 3 July 2017 Mansha and some of his immediate family members are among the richest and highest tax-paying individuals in Pakistan. Mansha owns some of the most expensive houses in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

, including at the St. Georges Hill gated estate in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

Early life and career

In the 1930s, Mansha's family had migrated to Kolkata, Bengal from

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...

. After the 1947

Partition of British India The Partition of British India in 1947 was the change of political borders and the division of other assets that accompanied the dissolution of the British Raj in South Asia and the creation of two independent dominions: India and Pakistan. T ...

, the family returned to

Punjab, Pakistan Punjab (; , ) is one of the four provinces of Pakistan. Located in central-eastern region of the country, Punjab is the second-largest province of Pakistan by land area and the largest province by population. It shares land borders with the ...

. Mian Muhammad Mansha's father started a cotton ginning business which later became the ''Nishat Textile Mills''. Mansha was born in

Faisalabad Faisalabad (; Punjabi/ ur, , ; ), formerly known as Lyallpur ( Punjabi, Urdu: لائل پور), named after the founder of the city, but was renamed in 1977 in honour of late King Faisal of Saudi Arabia. It is the 3rd largest city of Pak ...

to a wealthy family. He did his early schooling at Sacred Heart Convent, Faisalabad, and later joined Hendon College, London for higher studies in business administration.

Career

He started his career as one of the most prominent industrialists of Pakistan. ''Nishat Textiles Mills'' was started in 1951 by his father and uncles. His father died one year after he returned from London after finishing his studies there in 1968. Mian Muhammad Mansha joined the family business in 1969 and eventually he split with his uncles and took over the family business. He was worth US$2.5 billion in 2013. Apart from making large acquisitions, he was simultaneously expanding his Nishat Textiles segment. ''Nishat Textiles Mills'' is Pakistan's largest fabric manufacturing mills. After 1979, Mansha set up Pakistan's largest textile complex of seven factories in ''Nishatabad'' in the city of

. In later years, another textile complex followed in

Chunian Chunian ( ur, ), is a historic city and the capital of Chunian Tehsil of Punjab, Pakistan. It is located at 30° 58' N 73° 51' E and at an elevation of 177 metres (583 feet), and lies about 70 km south of Lahore the Punjab capital. I ...

near

Lahore Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city. ...

. Mansha's conglomerate benefited greatly from the privatisation drive by the governments of the 1990s. During this period, he made a number of acquisitions and buy-outs, including engineering at least one hostile takeover. When the dust settled, Mansha had acquired a controlling position in Adamjee Insurance, the country's largest non-life insurer. Nishat Mills also acquired two thermal power plants near its D. G. Khan Cement Factory located in

Dera Ghazi Khan District Dera Ghazi Khan (Urdu and pnb, , Saraiki: , bal, ڈیرہ غازی خان) is a district in the Punjab province of Pakistan. Its capital is the town of Dera Ghazi Khan. Most of its inhabitants are Saraikis and Baloch. The district lies to ...

, Punjab, previously owned by the ''Saigol family''. Business analysts in Pakistan reportedly said that the acquisition of two thermal power plants would ensure uninterrupted power supply to ''D. G. Khan Cement Factory'' for the Nishat Group. While going through these large acquisitions, he was simultaneously expanding his Nishat Textiles segment, ''Nishat Textile Mills'' is Pakistan's largest fabric manufacturing company. But all these achievements, perhaps, play third fiddle to Mansha's master-stroke: the acquisition of one of Pakistan's most profitable banks,

MCB Bank Limited MCB Bank Limited () is a Pakistani multinational commercial bank which is based in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. The majority of shares are owned by Pakistani conglomerate Nishat Group and Malaysian bank Maybank. The bank has a network of 1,600 bran ...

or better known as

Muslim Commercial Bank MCB Bank Limited () is a Pakistani multinational commercial bank which is based in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. The majority of shares are owned by Pakistani conglomerate Nishat Group and Malaysian bank Maybank. The bank has a network of 1,600 bran ...

. Competing with several other bidders in a privatisation process, there were several challenges to overcome, but ultimately he persevered. Under Mansha's watch, MCB Bank has demonstrated execution and growth and which has made it one of the premier financial service management teams in the

Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a list of the physiographic regions of the world, physiographical region in United Nations geoscheme for Asia#Southern Asia, Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian O ...

. Today, MCB Bank is one of the top 4 banks in the country and leads in terms of market capitalisation with a massive employee base of roughly 18,000. Mansha has proceeded to venture into new terrain, executing deals with state-owned WAPDA (

Water and Power Development Authority The Pakistan Water & Power Development Authority (WAPDA; ur, ) is a government-owned public utility maintaining power and water in Pakistan, although it does not manage thermal power. WAPDA includes Tarbela and Mangla dams among its resources. ...

) to sell its excess electric power capacity generated at Nishat's various

power stations A power station, also referred to as a power plant and sometimes generating station or generating plant, is an industrial facility for the generation of electric power. Power stations are generally connected to an electrical grid. Many pow ...

. This led to the founding of ''Nishat Power'', which is now a growing business with Mansha's son playing a senior role in the company's executive board. MCB Bank, in 2008, started a partnership with

Maybank Malayan Banking Berhad (doing business as Maybank) is a Malaysian universal bank, with key operating "home markets" of Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia. According to the 2020 Brand Finance report, Maybank is Malaysia's most valuable bank b ...

of Malaysia.

now has a 20% share in MCB Bank. In 2009, Mian Muhammad Mansha, chairman of MCB Bank, said that his efforts were successful in continuing to bring foreign investment to Pakistan and that his bank had already brought 970 million U.S. dollars' investment into the country from

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

following a deal with May Bank, Malaysia. He was selected for a special ''Lunch with the UK

Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Nik ...

'' newspaper. According to ''Forbes'' listings in 2010, he was the 937th richest person in the world and the richest person in Pakistan. With $700 million in cash from MCB Bank and another $300 million raised from international markets, Mansha has aspirations of acquiring an established bank in Indonesia and possibly even in the Middle East. MCB Bank already has international operations, and the ''Nishat Group'' also owns an automobile leasing company in

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...

. Further plans include major infrastructure projects in Pakistan, such as the construction of electric power plants based on coal-powered generation of electricity and sea ports.

Achievements and awards

Mansha is currently on the board of various prominent institutes in Pakistan and is one of the most powerful and influential people in the country. He was awarded the

Sitara-e-Imtiaz The Sitara-e-Imtiaz () also spelled as Sitara-i-Imtiaz, is the third-highest (in the order of "Imtiaz") honour and Civil decorations of Pakistan, civilian award in the State of Pakistan. It recognizes individuals who have made an "especially m ...

civil award by

President of Pakistan The president of Pakistan ( ur, , translit=s̤adr-i Pākiṣṭān), officially the President of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is the ceremonial head of state of Pakistan and the commander-in-chief of the Pakistan Armed Forces.Pervez Musharraf General Pervez Musharraf ( ur, , Parvez Muśharraf; born 11 August 1943) is a former Pakistani politician and four-star general of the Pakistan Army who became the tenth president of Pakistan after the successful military takeover of the ...

on 23 March 2004. One of Mansha's companies, ''Nishat Textile Mills Limited'', is the largest exporting entity in

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

. Mansha is also a member of the board of directors at the

Atlantic Council The Atlantic Council is an American think tank in the field of international affairs, favoring Atlanticism, founded in 1961. It manages sixteen regional centers and functional programs related to international security and global economic prosp ...

Personal wealth

Mansha was named richest Pakistani in 2008 by

Daily Pakistan The ''Daily Pakistan'' ( ur, ) is a daily newspaper in Pakistan, published both in Urdu language and in English. Mujeeb-ur-Rehman Shami is its chief editor. In March 2010, Mansha was the first Pakistani making it to the ''Forbes'' billionaires list.. Retrieved 2 July 2017 Mansha owns red Mercedes E-class, Jaguar convertible, a Porsche turbo, a BMW 750, a Range Rover, and a Volkswagen, besides a turboprop plane and an eight-seater jet. Mansha was previously a

British Airways British Airways (BA) is the flag carrier airline of the United Kingdom. It is headquartered in London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a populati ...

First Class customer before it was reduced to a three class service from 2008.

Criticism

In 2004, Mansha's group and his preferred candidate were defeated by a margin of two votes in the

All Pakistan Textile Mills Association The All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA) is an association for Textile industry in Pakistan. APTMA represents over 400 textile mills in Pakistan. The textile industry is Pakistan's largest industry and textile is the most important exp ...

(APTMA) elections. Mansha subsequently resigned from APTMA. ''D.G. Khan Cement Company'', which is part of Mansha's ''Nishat Group'', was once the target of violence by local people living near the factory. The issue is still in Court and not resolved but started production after increasing security around the plant. Mian Muhammad Mansha has never met U.S. businessman

Warren Buffett Warren Edward Buffett ( ; born August 30, 1930) is an American business magnate, investor, and philanthropist. He is currently the chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway. He is one of the most successful investors in the world and has a net w ...

but is one of his admirers. He sometimes seeks advice from the U.S. 'vulture investor'

Carl Icahn Carl Celian Icahn (; born February 16, 1936) is an American financier. He is the founder and controlling shareholder of Icahn Enterprises, a public company and diversified conglomerate holding company based in Sunny Isles Beach. Icahn takes l ...

who once advised him to stay away from investing in airlines, and therefore, Mansha says he has no interest in buying out

Pakistan International Airlines Pakistan International Airlines ( ur, ; abbreviated PIA, ur, ) is an international airline that serves as the national flag carrier of Pakistan under the administrative control of the Secretary to the Government of Pakistan for Aviation. It ...

, if it is privatised by the government in the future. Carl Icahn's advice was coloured by his bad experience with the now defunct ''

Trans World Airlines Trans World Airlines (TWA) was a major American airline which operated from 1930 until 2001. It was formed as Transcontinental & Western Air to operate a route from New York City to Los Angeles via St. Louis, Kansas City, and other stops, with F ...

''. Carl Icahn reportedly told him, "In good times, the unions take away the profits, and in bad times, the cost of oil kills you." Mansha sometimes goes over to

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

and has business meetings there with other fellow billionaires like

Sunil Mittal Sunil Bharti Mittal (born 23 October 1957) is an Indian billionaire entrepreneur, philanthropist and the founder and chairperson of Bharti Enterprises, which has diversified interests in telecom, insurance, real estate, education, malls, hospit ...

. In recent pandemic

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

Mian Mansha and the Nishat Group fired their 800-900 employees in a day and he faced a huge criticism on social media.

References