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Core Business

Mr. Balram Chainrai, (Balu) was born and raised in Hong Kong. Being educated in Hong Kong, Mr. Balu speaks several languages and is fluent in Cantonese, English and Sindhi. Having started his business career quite early in life, Mr. Balu soon established himself as a leading business man in Hong Kong.

His core company, Hornington Enterprises Limited (Est. 1984), operates under ‘The Chainrai Group of Companies’ (Est. 1949), and soon other associate companies were set up. The company is involved in the manufacture and trading of electronic goods, home appliances, toys; distribution of computers and related accessories, and trade finance activities. These trade finance activities have helped many customers across the world to expand their business and also trading operations spanned several countries in Asia, Middle East, and Europe. With his dynamism and keen business acumen, Mr. Balu has been able to take advantage of trading and investment opportunities as well as survive market slumps in various regions. His courageous ventures into new pastures helped him gain footholds in new markets in the early stages thereby reaping full benefits. Under his dynamic leadership, the company soon grew both in terms business volume and diversity, with an annual turnover in excess of US$ 200,000,000. Mr. Balu was among the pioneers in Hong Kong to venture out and open a trading Office in Moscow and Kiev - a move which proved to be very successful. This office handled and sold a complete range of household and electronic goods from major brands such as Akai and Telefunken. He also was selected to be the exclusive distributor of Hyundai electronics and household products in Germany, Austria, Netherlands, Belgium, Cyprus, and Luxembourg.

Diverse Ventures

With his several years of successful business experience, Mr. Balu has brought innovation and effective management techniques into his various and diverse ventures across different industries. Balu’s new business interests also include the investments in property, hotels, the entertainment industry and solar power projects. Mr. Balu also bought Portsmouth City Football Club, which at the time was an English Premier League Club and won the FA Cup in 2008. He was the first person in Hong Kong to own a Premier League club. Presently, he is concentrating on developing close business relations with Chinese entrepreneurs in order to entice them in investing into Cyprus. He has brought a lot into the Cyprus economy including his personal investments, and he plans to continue this whole heartedly. 

Philanthropy

Mr. Balu is committed to giving back to those in need and involved with many charities worldwide. He is a Rotarian, and member of several other social organisations. He is also the main award donor of "The One" (2015-2019), a charity organization to find the one person each year, who has contributed to the world unselfishly. He was Vice Chairman of the Indian Chamber of Commerce of Hong Kong (which is officially recognized by the Government of Hong Kong SAR) from 2001 to 2006 before he became the President of the Chamber in 2007. He still holds the title as the Vice Chairman of the Indian Chamber and is also the current Vice Chairman of the Overseas Indian Organisation. In that capacity, Mr. Balu was part of several trade delegations together with top government officials and businessmen of Hong Kong to other countries. Mr. Balu will continue to do his best to support Hong Kong and give back to the community.

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