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Best of the East...
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 Among the persons of Indian origin who have carved out a niche for themselves in the social, economic and political life of Hong Kong, the name of Hari N. Harilela comes first. A self-made man who had a very humble origin, Harilela’s rise reads like the proverbial rags to riches story. If Hong Kong has risen from the obscurity of a ‘barren island’ to one of the leading financial centres of the world, so also Harilela had risen from penury to the status of a Sindhi Onassis, heading a multi-million dollar business empire which includes luxury hostels and real estate in the US, Canada and South East Asia. If Hong Kong has weathered many a storm, Harilela too has seen ups and downs in his personal life. In fact Harilela is the personification of the spirit of Hong Kong, the spirit of drive, dynamism, resilience and adaptability.
Harilela was born in 1922 to Sindhi gem merchant Lilaram who brought his family to Guanghu (the capital of the Chinese province of Guangdong which borders Hong Kong. After his trade failed in the wake of the Great Depression, Lilaram moved to Hong Kong. Harilela started in a very humble way selling everything from newspapers to eggs to eke out a living. He faced the depression with fortitude and courage. When he got the job of manager in an export-import farm, he felt secure. However, for a man bursting with drive and dynamism, the job curbed his innate spirit of enterprise. He gave up the job and started his own silk trade with his accumulated savings. The outbreak of World War II, however, seriously affected his business.
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| The Sindhis who constitute the bulk of the Indian population arrived in Hong Kong in the post-war years. Among them the name of Hari N. Harilela comes to mind first
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But after the war, his silk business picked up and he diversified into textiles and tailoring. The tailoring business turned out to be the veritable golden goose. The outbreak of the Korean War in 1950s created huge demand for stitched clothes for American soldiers who flew through Hong Kong during the war. By 1960 Harilela’s Custom Tailors was a household name in Hong Kong. It emerged as the largest tailoring network in Hong Kong.
The Harilelas own the flagship 650-room Holiday Inn golden in Hong Kong, apart from inns in Singapore, Penang and Bangkok. In 1997 they also acquired the Sheraton Belgravia in London. Other interests of the group include a hospital, real estate, racehorses and a host of other activities spread across the world. He was appointed by the Chinese government to advise them during the transfer of sovereignty over Hong Kong from Britain to the People’s Republic in July 1997. The government of India conferred on him the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award at the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas 2003. Harilela and his extended family continue to play a very important role in Hong Kong under Chinese rule.
Although numerically not a very sizeable population, the Indian diaspora in Hong Kong consisting of about 30,000 people of Indian origin, some possessing Indian passports, have integrated well with the multicultural and multi-ethnic society of Hong Kong while also maintaining the tradition, culture and milieu of their Indian heritage.
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February 2007
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