House of Habib
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The House of Habib is a prominent family in Pakistan.
The Habibs have spread their wealth over a large number of private and public companies, and a profile of Rafiq Habib in Economic Review, November 1984 (P 59), said that Habib group had 90 companies it its fold.
[edit] History
The history of the House of Habib goes back to middle of the last century when Esmail Ali of Jam Nagar, India, set up a small utensil factory in Bombay. His son Habib Esmail, born in 1878, founded the House of Habib. Habib was very young when his father died, forcing him to join the business of his uncle Cassum Mohammad, owner of Khoja Mithabai Nathoo, merchant, and manufacturer of copper and brass utensils. It was because of his association with Mithabai Nathoo that Habib Ismaeel came to be known as Seth Habib Mitha.
The House of Habib holds many distinctions in Pakistan's history. Habib Bank was shifted to Pakistan on the personal bidding of Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah and came to the aid of the nascent state "even before the Govt of Pakistan was ready to issue appropriate government paper" with a Rs 80 million loan when the Reserve Bank of India failed to deliver Pakistan share of Rs 750 million held by it. It is said that Mohammad Ali Habib gave a blank cheque on Llyod Bank to Quaid-e-Azam who wrote Rs 80 million in it. (An article in Habib Bank Golden Jubilee Presentation and a letter to the Editor in daily Dawn, September 11, 1991).
The Habib family set up offices in Vienna and Geneva as early as 1912 and incorporated Habib and Sons in 1921, which dealt in brass, metal scraps and gold with "Lion of Ali" embossed on it. The Habib Bank still uses this as its insignia.
Habib companies include Bank AL Habib, Habib Bank AG Zurich, and Indus Motors Limited, a joint venture with the Toyota Motor Corporation.
