Mr.
Hari Punja is a
businessmanA business magnate, sometimes referred to as a capitalist, czar, mogul, tycoon, baron, oligarch, or industrialist, is an informal term used to refer to an entrepreneur who has reached prominence and derived a notable amount of wealth from a particular industry .-Etymology:The word magnate itself...
and Chairman of Hari Punja Group of Companies. Hari Punja and Sons Limited is a very diversified (and probably the largest) company in
FijiFiji , officially the Republic of Fiji , is an island nation in Melanesia in the South Pacific Ocean about northeast of New Zealand's North Island...
.
Mr. Hari Punja was born in Cuvu,
SigatokaFor the banana disease, see Black sigatoka.Sigatoka is a town in Fiji. It is found on the island of Viti Levu and is situated at the mouth of the Sigatoka River, after which it is named, some 69 kilometers from Nadi. In Fiji's last census the population of Sigatoka was at 9622...
, Fiji and received his education in Fiji and
AustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. He is a
chemical engineerIn the field of engineering, a chemical engineer is the profession in which one works principally in the chemical industry to convert basic raw materials into a variety of products, and deals with the design and operation of plants and equipment to perform such work...
. Mr. Hari Punja joined the business in 1960. He has served as a mayor of
LautokaLautoka is the second largest city of Fiji and the second largest in the South Pacific. It is in the west of the island of Viti Levu, 24 kilometres north of Nadi, and is the second port of entry in Fiji, after Suva. Lying in the heart of Fiji's sugar cane growing region, it is known as the Sugar...
and on a number of prestigious boards such as
Fiji Broadcasting CommissionThe Fiji Broadcasting Corporation is one of the two radio broadcasters in Fiji. It was known as Fiji Broadcasting Commission when it began. It traces its history back to 1935 when it first began operating under licence from the Posts and Telegraphs Department with the call sign ZJV. At the end of...
and
Fiji Sugar CorporationFiji Sugar Corporation is the Government-owned sugar milling company in Fiji having the monopoly on production of all raw sugar in Fiji. It is also the largest public enterprise in Fiji directly employing nearly 3000 people while another 200,000 or more depend on it for their livelihood in rural...
.