From financial service to manufacturing, this business conglomerate has championed a diverse field of business.

 

The year 2017 was remarkable in the over century-long history of Kedia Organisation, one of the largest business conglomerates of the country. In 2017, Kedia Organisation went through a restructuring to elevate its presence in diverse businesses which were being managed under the traditional family-based management system. After the restructuring, businesses of the Organisation were divided among the family members on the basis of their strength and expertise.

 

As a result, different family members are looking after different businesses of the organization today. Managing Director of Kedia Organisation, Manoj Kumar Kedia, notes, “The restructuring of our organisation entrusted different responsibilities to different family members. It gave us an opportunity to work openly being focused on specific business interest.” Today, he handles the Organisation’s cement, steel and banking businesses along with other financial services. 

 

History

Kedia Organisation’s business history dates back to 1909 AD when Ram Kumar Kedia, Manoj Kedia’s great grandfather, started as a trader of cloths with his sons Mahabir Prasad Kedia and Brij Lal Kedia. According to him, his forefather initiated the business for family livelihood after migrating to Nepal from India. Later in the second generation, Brij Lal expanded the trade business to food grains including lentils, rice, maize, flour, wheat in Nepal operating around 34 mills across the country during this period. Brij Lal later started hardware business as well. “Late Brij Lal Kedia was so engaged in the food grains business that he used to be the one to set the prices of food grains in Nepal. Even Nepal Food Corporation used to consult with him for prices of food grains,” says Manoj. Brij Lal also established Nepal’s first modern rice mill, Bhagwati Rice Mill in Birgunj.

 

Late Shankar Lal Kedia of the family’s third generation also had contributed a lot to the rise of the legacy and brand of the organisation by ‘organising’ the business. Under his leadership, Kedia Organisation entered international trading and industrial ventures in steel and furniture, stainless steel utensils, textile, corrugated steel, vegetable oil, and sugar production.

 

The businesses were later promoted with synergetic effort of brotherhood. Manoj who started working for the organisation at the age of 16 started Sita Ram Gokul Milk Ltd in 1994 as his first venture.

 

The year 2017 was remarkable in the over century-long history of Kedia Organisation, one of the largest business conglomerates of the country. In 2017, Kedia Organisation went through a restructuring to elevate its presence in diverse businesses which were being managed under the traditional family-based management system. After the restructuring, businesses of the Organisation were divided among the family members on the basis of their strength and expertise.

 

As a result, different family members are looking after different businesses of the organization today. Managing Director of Kedia Organisation, Manoj Kumar Kedia, notes, “The restructuring of our organisation entrusted different responsibilities to different family members. It gave us an opportunity to work openly being focused on specific business interest.” Today, he handles the Organisation’s cement, steel and banking businesses along with other financial services. 

 

Strong Start of Shree Steels 

Shree Steels is the newest business venture of Kedia Organisation, formally coming into operation in 2019. At its plant situated at Semrahawa, Rohini Rural Municipality, Rupandehi, the company is already manufacturing TMT bars with a fully automated plant based on the Japanese technology introduced for the first time in Nepal. “At present, we are manufacturing FE 500 bars featured with fire resistance, earthquake resistance, strong bendability and bonding capacity. We will be gradually extending bars of up to FE 600 in coming days,” says Manoj Kumar Kedia who is the director at Shree Steels. 

 

He claims that Shree Steels is the first company in Nepal to introduce the six-stand block mill technology for steel manufacturing that increases production capacity to 40 tonnes per hour. “We have introduced Japanese technology in steel manufacturing which ensures the quality of products. This technology has been successful in a country like Japan which is quite prone to earthquakes.”

 

According to Kedia, customers, engineers, contractors, architects all are excited with the new steel products of the company. “We have not compromised technology and quality,” he expresses. 

 

Challenges

“We don’t think that the market is favourable to steel manufacturers. We don’t have any problem regarding our products, technology and quality. However, we are facing troubles because of the low prices of industrial or construction materials,” says Kedia. He mentions that the prices of both steel and cement products have decreased by 15 percent recently.

 

Stakes in Cement Industry

Brij Cement Industries and Arghakhanchi Cement are two cement factories related to Kedia Organisation. Brij Cement Pvt Ltd is a joint venture of Kedia Organisation and an Indian company Shanta Cement Pvt Ltd. The company with its own clinker plant in Rupandehi has been manufacturing Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC), Portland Pozzolana Cement (PPC) and Portland Slag Cement (PSC). According to Kedia, Brij Cement is preparing to introduce a new cement brand in the PPC category. Currently, the company has been manufacturing only OPC cement. “All our products are of international quality. We are providing best services and products at reasonable prices in the market.” The organisation uses Dutch technology from a company named FL Smith to manufacture cement.

 

Similarly, Arghakhanchi Cement is a joint venture of Kedia Organisation, Siddhartha Group and Murarka Organisation. Established in 2008, the company has been producing OPC cement and VSK clinker at its plant located at Birpur, Kapilvastu.

 

 

Asian Concreto Pvt Ltd

Asian Concreto is another company under the Kedia Organisation which manufactures construction products like concrete tiles also known as pavers, hollowblocks, kerbstones, and bricks. These products are a value addition to cement products and are used in finishing of outdoor areas resulting in clean, beautiful and dust free environment.

 

Established in 2018, the company is making available its products from a computerised plant which uses state-of-the-art German technology. The products are of multiple colors, design and pattern which suit all types of architectural projects and are branded with the tagline “Beautify Your Way”. 

 

Presence in Banking and Financial Services

Kedia Organisation has also maintained a strong presence inthe banking sector. Manoj took his own initiatives for entering the banking sector. Today he is the Chairman of Siddhartha Bank Limited (SBL), a class A bank in the country. He is the chairman of the bank. “I always had a dream to establish a finance company under Kedia Organisation. My parents had applied for a license to operate a bank under the name Bank of Nepal. However, they were unable to get the license, and the Nepal Rastra Bank also suggested that we change the name of the institution. Then I took up this project. After my year long struggle and the support from others, we were successful in getting license for the operation of the bank,” he shares. Established in 2002, SBL is now a major force in the banking sector with Rs 8.46 billion in paid-up capital. The bank has nationwide presence with its 139 branches. Furthermore, Kedia Organisation’s strong foothold in the capital market is signified by the fact that it is the major investor in Siddhartha Finance, Siddhartha Capital and Reliance Capital.

 

Human Resource

Kedia Organisation gives a high priority to human resource. “We have good manpower to handle different sectors,” says Kedia, adding that the organisation has been supported by many professional teams. “We have good teams in the financial sector. There are good banking professionals working at Siddhartha Bank. The bank has around 1,400 employees. Similarly, over100 people have been employed in the Shree Steels, while more than 500 are working in cement factories operated by Kedia Organisation.

 

CSR

Kedia Organisation has been carrying out different significant programmes in areas like education, infrastructure development, health care and public welfare under its CSR initiatives since its inception. Currently, it is more focused on capacity building of today’s youths. In health sector, the Organisation is arranging land for Mahendra Park and Vipassana meditation in Birgunj as donation.

 

Likewise, it has been contributing to the people of mountain region providing first aid treatment services, medicines for free in collaboration with a foreign company Medicine in Remote Area (MIRA) and Pushpa Tara Kedia Sewa Foundation since 2018. It also established Mahabir Prasad Brijlal Kedia Dental Hospital as well as Ram Kumar Mahabir Prasad Kedia Eye Hospital in Birgunj. In education sector also, it has been running school and colleges in different places including  D.A.V and Maharaja Agrasen Faculty of Management in Birgunj. Kedia also started Nepal’s second girls’ school- Sundarmal Ram Kumar Girls Higher Secondary School in Birgunj since 1952 AD.

 

Kedia has also been contributing for welfare of the society through its different entities like Mahabir Prasad Brijlal Kedia Sewa Sadan, Sushil Kedia Sewa Foundation in Birgung and Sitaram Kedia Sewa Sadan in Sarlahi.