Turning Rs 50 to croresPNC Menon's success story unveiled

He began his entrepreneurial journey with the ticket to Oman with Rs 50 in his pocket. He decided to come back home 15 years ago to set up a company that would transform the way that we perceived quality in the real estate business. He decided to take his company public in 2006 and got an overwhelming response from the Indian market. He has built palaces in the Gulf and some of the most magnificent buildings here in India. He is PNC Menon, Founder of Sobha Developers.

The Infosys global education centre, spread over 337 acres in Mysore, this is independent India’s largest monolithic structure. Over 16,000 students walked these hallways every year making it the largest popular education centre in the world. Everything here seems larger than life and it is bound to be given that a man for the last 30 years has been building palaces in Oman and the Gulf has brought his masterpiece of Modern India to life.

This clear sense of ownership Menon feels today is perhaps a result of his past. A childhood, that had very little.

Below is a verbatim transcript of his interview with CNBC-TV18

Q: I have heard that you landed in Oman with Rs 50 in your pocket with no contacts, with no idea of what you were going to do with the exception of this one gentleman that you had accidentally met in Kerala before you left. What was it like, take me through the key turning points that helped you establish yourself to the number four player first in 1984 and then the number one player in 1986 and 1987?

A: I had a gentleman who said you should come to Oman, try the opportunity and he was a captain in those days in the army. I know the business a little, but when I went there and saw I felt that I was a 13th century person stepping into 21st century. So it was initially a shock. How will I match to a requirement of this country which is totally international,? I thought.

Since I did not have any money, I had to literally go and borrow – first capital was borrowed, we borrowed money some 3,000 rial from the bank then I bought a pick up which did not have an air condition and

the temperature goes up to 45 Degree Celsius. I was travelling around in that pick up, I completed almost 175,000 kilometres in that.

By the time I did that, I had established my requirement of business and then it was a growth story. Within 4-6 years, our most prestigious client was the Diwan of Oman and got job from the Diwan. Then from that onwards till today — we are talking about almost 35 years and I have been working for the Diwan — continuously doing palaces etc for the last 30 years.

Q: This is the story that people in India don’t know much about because we hear you talk about your results quarter-after-quarter not even you but your management talks about your results quarter-after-quarter but your operations would continue to exist in places like Dubai, in places like Oman, in places like the UAE, we don’t know much about that, take us through what is going on and what are your aspirations now as far as that side of your business is concerned?

A: This business is already 35 year old business and we have very highly reputed there, we do the palaces for the rulers of the Gulf mainly the Qatar rulers, Omani rulers and currently we are also working for the Sultan of Brunei and we are doing his palace now. There are not many contractors around the world who does interiors for the palaces. I would say there may not be even around ten companies around the world, so we became one of the ten. I definitely wanted to divide the risk of a geography, we were only in the Gulf. So I thought why not another geography, I looked at other countries, I looked at United States, I looked at Europe then I thought the best thing is to come to India and look at the opportunities here and we decided to be in the south in Bangalore and do not regret my decision when I look at the past.

Q: That was 15 years ago. From the turnover of Rs 100 crore in 1995, today Sobha Developers is a Rs 1,500 crore company with about 3,000 employees. I want to ask you a question because I am intrigued by this, you decided the name company after your wife, Captain Nair who also comes from the state as you do also decided to name his company after his wife, why do you think this has happened because we don’t see this happened very often in corporate India?

A: I have had a wonderful wife. I believe in astrology. So according to the astrology signs, that I have, I am supposed to be lucky after my marriage whom I marry is not important but I got my married to this lady from that day onwards I have been growing. So I say she has

been a part of the growth also, why not her name, I did not think more than that.

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Q: What are the charts telling you at this point in time about what your future looks like?

A: Lot of growth.

Q: You do this every day?

A: Every year.

Q: Any stumbling blocks at this point in time, any big challenges that you are ready to get over?

A: I think it is all over, the turmoil or the recession of last recession was very painful but I think that is over.

Q: One of the other things I have noticed and I wanted to ask you about it, I understand you carry a calculator in your pockets with you all times? Why you need to be sort of punching in numbers constantly to figure out what is going on in which township?

A: I have believed throughout my life business is nothing but numbers even the whole life is nothing but numbers. When you talk about numbers in a business, large numbers and I am not very good in arithmetic. So I have decided, I need a calculator so I can get all the numbers.

Q: It is with you at all?

A: Not with me. I have insisted that all the managers of Sobha carry a calculator.

Q: You don’t trust them, is it?

A: It is not about trusting them. We can be more efficient in terms of whatever numbers we deal with.

When we came back home it was a cultural difference also. Even though I belong to this country, I grew up here. The method of doing business is completely different. Here when I came to India especially in the real estate business, there was a lot of exaggeration.

Q: That is what I was going to ask you, doing business in India is one thing but doing business in India within the real estate business is another thing completely because you are talking about transparency, you are talking about being above board, you are talking about sticking to what you have promised, delivering on what you have promised, those are things that is not accepted as part of the real estate culture in this country.

A: That is one good advantage we had because I came with a different culture to the business and when I started, the culture was completely different and it was highly appreciated. I thought there was a gap between what is being done internationally, what is being done in India both product and the transaction method.

Q: It all boils down to bureaucratic wrangling; it all boils down to in a sense connections, contacts, how have you been able to steer clear of all of that?

A: So long as you buy private land, you don’t have a problem. You should not look for a government land. Government land probably may bring problems with you. So Sobha has a policy, we never look for government land. When we buy a private land, we will go to the details of the legal requirement of land then we go for the design, we generally do not deviate from the requirement of government when it comes to design, we will deviate us, we have a policy not to deviate.

Q: For the last 15 years, Sobha has concentrated on the market in South India building luxury and super luxury residential spaces and big scale commercial complexes. Now, Sobha is moving north.  How are you gearing up for this battle because it is going to be a challenging one, isn’t it?

A: I don’t think it is a battle because all people have their own spaces and Sobha will have its own space. So we are doing a township which is about 150 acres, we have got about more than 300 villas coming up in a beautiful township. When I came to India, I came to India with a dream of doing a very proper infrastructure. So I feel that as an Indian we have got that kind of experience from outside, I have worked outside for many years more than 35 years, I thought the time has come for me to give it back to the country, ofcourse I am going to make my money.

Q: So has the reception in Delhi been a warm one or has it been cold because it is a very competitive market and we are all well aware of the competition that exists?

A: We are very small so people ignored us.

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