House of Habib
Encyclopedia
The House of Habib is a prominent Muslim
Khoja
business family in Pakistan
. The Habibs have spread their wealth over a large number of private companies. A profile of Rafiq Habib in an Economic Review stated that the Habib group has owned over 90 companies in its heyday. The Habib group's most famous and successful subsidiary is its Banking and Finance division.
, 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. Cassum Mohammad was the owner of Khoja Mithabai Nathoo, a merchant, and a 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. He 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 Lloyd Bank to the Quaid-e-Azam who wrote Rs 80 million in it.
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" & Zulfiqar
embossed on it. The Habib Bank still uses this as its insignia.
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
Khoja
Khoja
The Khojas are ethnic group of Shia Muslims. The word Khoja derives from Khwaja, a Persian title .In Pakistan, many Khojas migrated to and settled in the province of Sindh and especially in the city of Karachi. While in India, most Khojas live in the states of Gujarat, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and...
business family in Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
. The Habibs have spread their wealth over a large number of private companies. A profile of Rafiq Habib in an Economic Review stated that the Habib group has owned over 90 companies in its heyday. The Habib group's most famous and successful subsidiary is its Banking and Finance division.
History
The history of the House of Habib goes back to middle of the previous-to-last century when Esmail Ali of JamnagarJamnagar
Jamnagar is a city and a municipal corporation in Jamnagar district in the Indian state of Gujarat. The city was built up substantially by Maharaja Kumar Shri Ranjitsinhji in the 1920s, when the district was known as Nawanagar. The district lies just to the south of the Gulf of Kutch and is...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, 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. Cassum Mohammad was the owner of Khoja Mithabai Nathoo, a merchant, and a 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
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
on the personal bidding of Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah. He 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
Reserve Bank of India
The Reserve Bank of India is the central banking institution of India and controls the monetary policy of the rupee as well as US$300.21 billion of currency reserves. The institution was established on 1 April 1935 during the British Raj in accordance with the provisions of the Reserve Bank of...
failed to deliver Pakistan share of Rs 750 million held by it. It is said that Mohammad Ali Habib gave a blank cheque on Lloyd Bank to the Quaid-e-Azam who wrote Rs 80 million in it.
The Habib family set up offices in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
and Geneva
Geneva
Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...
as early as 1912 and incorporated Habib and Sons in 1921, which dealt in brass, metal scraps and gold with "Lion of Ali" & Zulfiqar
Zulfiqar
Zulfiqar "bifurcated" is the sword of the Islamic leader Ali. In Arabic the name is commonly transliterated as Dhu al-Fiqar, Thulfeqar, Dhulfiqar, Zoulfikar etc. The name Zulfiqar means which divides exactly in two parts....
embossed on it. The Habib Bank still uses this as its insignia.
Present day
The Habib group today consists of:- Finance division - Bank AL HabibBank AL HabibFor the original bank with a similar name, see: HBL PakistanThe Bank AL Habib Limited, run by the Dawood Habib family group of companies, is one of the growing banks in Pakistan. It was selected as one of the top 200 Best Under A Billion companies by Forbes Asia in their annual review of 2005...
, Habib Metropolitan Bank, Habib Bank AG ZurichHabib Bank AG ZurichHabib Bank AG Zurich, a commercial bank incorporated in Switzerland. It maintains headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland, but has operations in Switzerland, United Kingdom, United Arab Emirates, and Kenya...
, Habibsons Bank, Habib African Bank, Habib Overseas Bank, Habib Insurance Limited, Habib Canadaian Bank, Habib American Bank, HBZ Finance - Motors - Indus Motors CompanyIndus Motors CompanyThe Indus Motor Company Limited is a joint venture between the House of Habib , Toyota Motor Corporation, Japan , and Toyota Tsusho Corporation, Japan for assembling, progressive manufacturing and marketing of Toyota vehicles in Pakistan since July 1, 1990...
and Agri Auto - Manufacturing - Shabbir Tiles and Ceramics, Thal jute, AuVitronics, Thal Engineering, DYNEA Pakistan Limited, Baluchistan Laminates, Noble (PVT) Limited, Pakistan Papersack Corporation Ltd., Horn Plastics Canada
- Retail - MakroMakroMakro is a Dutch chain of Warehouse clubs, also called cash and carries. The first one opened in 1968 in Amsterdam. In the following years more stores opened in the Netherlands and in several other countries within Europe. In the 1970s and 1980s Makro extended its business to the Americas and...
Habib Limited - IT - Noble Computer services.