Hindujas get a 360-degree makeover but need to smoothen rough edges

livemint.com:

Ashok Leyland, the group’s flagship company run for decades with strong professionals, also recently said it will launch six new LCV truck models in the next 12 months. Both the above are in the realm of possibilities and indicate potential growth trajectories for the group. The contrast between the Hinduja Group’s past and its present form is striking and multi-faceted.

Originally founded in 1919 by P.D. Hinduja in Tehran, the family later moved to London and Switzerland, focusing on trading and merchant banking. Today, the diversified group operates in around 40 countries across 10 sectors, with a significant share of its business in India.

The investments are in areas of banking and finance, trading, mobility, media and entertainment, real estate, energy, lubricants and specialty chemicals, healthcare, project development and real estate. While in the past, many of the companies were closely held with limited transparency, today there are at least six companies in India that are publicly traded, including Ashok Leyland, GOCL Corp, NXT Digital, Hinduja Global Solutions and IndusInd Bank. Almost all these companies are run by professionals with independent boards but with a lead family member.

The third generation of the group, with many holding higher education degrees from some of the best universities in the world, are professionally active in their business groups. Despite this progress, some rough edges remain. A feud between the eldest brother Srichand Hinduja’s daughters Vinoo and Shanu on one hand and the rest of the family on the other over the control of the mid-sized Hinduja Bank was in litigation for many years till it was settled about a year back.