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MEMBER PROFILE
May 2001 Issue   Nisha Electronic Industries
Hong Kong made
dreams come true for Indian entrepreneur
Ever since he was a child, Manohar Chugh had dreamed of travelled around the world. His journey began in the former province of Sindh, India, where he was born into a well-to-do family. His father owned several shops and life was comfortable for the family. All that changed in 1947 when British rule in India ended. The state became a part of Pakistan and the region was thrown into turmoil. "All of our shops were looted and our homes burnt by the Muslims, so we had to run for our lives to Hindu dominated India," he said.The family arrived in Bombay as penniless refugees. Although Mr Chugh's father had run his own businesses in Sindh, he had had no formal education and struggled to find work. But through tremendous courage and hard work, he managed to support his family and give his children a good education. Mr Chugh studied electronics and radio engineering and landed a job with the German firm Siemens Bombay in 1966. He earned a steady income but yearned to travel. "Ever since childhood, I had dreamed of seeing the world," he said. "I tried to apply for a visa to the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and a few others, but due to their strict visa application procedures I had no choice but to come to Hong Kong, as at that time the former colony was visa free."He arrived in Hong Kong on October 28, 1968, with a few hundred dollars that he had borrowed and immediately started looking for work. Despite being a qualified electronics engineer, language barriers thwarted his job-hunting prospects. Undeterred and driven by his determination to realise his dream of travelling the world, he accepted a job with a local trading company, Dreamland Electronic Manufactory, as export assistant. The trading firm taught him the basics of the export industry and within one year he was promoted to assistant manager. But Mr Chugh felt he had learned all he could from the firm and was offered the position of manager at Amalgamated Electronics Limited, which he accepted.  "In 1970, I was offered a partnership, which I accepted, and it
was decided that I should go on a selling mission immediately. I travelled around the
world for 10 months with six suitcases of samples selling our products. That was the
hardest I have ever worked in my life," Mr Chugh said.
But he won order after order, and before long had earned enough money to buy out his partner and take over the company. In 1974, Mr Chugh started a new company, Electric & Electronics Industries, as senior partner with some business associates, and eventually took over the company in 1980. Four years later, he launched a new company, Nisha Electronic Industries Limited, named after his first daughter. "Throughout life I have followed my father's philosophy: "If you do not succeed, that does not mean you have failed. You have failed only when you stop trying to succeed," he always used to say," Mr Chugh recollected.Through his work and leisure, the Indian entrepreneur has travelled around the world several times, visited hundreds of cities in 69 countries, and participated in several Chamber study missions to as many countries. Now that he has realised his dream of seeing the world, Mr Chugh said he plans to dedicate more of his time to community service. He was president of the Lions Club of Hong Kong, and is very active in several India associations. He is also the present director of the Non-resident Indians in Hong Kong. He has served on several committees of the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce. He was chairman of the Chamber's Europe Committee from 1997 to 2000, and served on the General Committee and Chamber's Council from 1992 to 1995. At the HKGCC Annual General Meeting held on April 24, 2001, Mr Chugh was again elected to the General Committee. |
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