FROM BANGKOK (THAILAND): Some 35 years ago, he went to Kolkata from Dhaka with an idea of a small enterprise.
From there he went Bangkok boarding a jet of Thai Airways. In between the years, he lived some years in Shanghai of China.
Now, he has hotel-restaurant business in Bangkok. He has become one of the most successful Bangladeshi businessmen in Thailand due to his integrity, perseverance and industriousness.
We made an appointment with him to take an interview after a Bangladeshi elder brother helped to find his address. We started talking about his hotel business after talking about his personal life and discussion over the situation of the country.
“There are 13 Bangladeshi restaurants in road no 1-13 of Sukhumvit Road, two in Old Town, one in Pratunam area and two in Phewa area. Besides, there are more than 200 Bangladeshi tailors’, real estate businessmen,” he said.
He informed about the number successful Bangladeshi businessmen in Chiang Mai.
All this information provided us the reasons of his success.
This businessman is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Rajdhani Business Center Company Ltd Quazi Anwarul Quader (Alamgir), also Managing Director.
He was born in Chittagong and grown up in Laxmipur. He has residence at Pallabi in Dhaka. He started several small businesses after his graduation in Commerce from Suhrawardy College. But his departure to Thailand from Kolkata changed everything.
Quazi Anwarul Quader started export-import business in Bangkok in 1979. In 1981, he opened the first Bangladeshi restaurant in Thailand and named it ‘Barisal Café’ as his partner was from Barisal.
In 1986, he opened ‘Suji Travel Agency’ and started tourism business which he closed in 2002 and went to Shanghai of China.
Later in 2005 he returned Bangkok and opened Rajdhani Restaurant. Now he is the owner of several residential hotels, export-import business, Rajdhani Business Center and tourism. However, in 1990, he married a Thai girl.
In this long 35 years, he has not taken the citizenship of Thailand as Thailand does not permit double citizenship.
“I just renew my passport in every year and cast votes back in the country,” he told banglanews correspondent.
About his business he said, restaurant business in Thailand is a seasonal business.
Though he has not taken the citizenship of Thailand, he told, he would never come back to Bangladesh permanently.
“There are so many nasty things including theft, robbery, formalin in food and who knows what! Thailand is a better living place,” he lamented.
There is no alternative of living legally in Thailand. Anyone can do business or take job in any sector if that person is a legal dweller.
But one must learn Thai language to be successful as people here do not understand any other language except Thai.
BDST: 1945 HRS, SEP 05, 2014
