April 8, 2016
NEW DELHI: Reliance Foundation Chairperson Nita Ambani, 52, has been named
the most powerful businesswoman in Asia among a list of 50 women leaders from
the region, according to Forbes. The list includes eight women from India.
The list that has leading women from China, Indonesia, Australia, Vietnam,
Thailand, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, the Philippines and New Zealand, places
SBI Chairman and Managing Director Arundhati Bhattacharya in the second
position.
The other six Indians who made it to the rankings are Sigma CEO Ambiga Dhiraj
(Ranking: 14), Welspun India CEO Dipali Goenka (16), Lupin CEO Vinita Gupta
(18), ICICI Bank Managing Director & CEO Chanda Kochhar (22), VLCC Health Care
Founder and vice chairman Vandana Luthra (26) and Biocon Founder, Chairman &
Managing Director Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw (28).
Forbes described said Director of Reliance Industries Nita Ambani as the "first lady
of Indian business." It said, "In a country where billionaire wives tend to remain in
the shadow of their husbands, Nita's rising profile in the Reliance empire is
unusual and earns her a debut spot."
About Kochhar, 54, it said, "as boss of the country's largest private-sector lender,
Kochhar has to contend with the current bane of India's banking system: bad
loans." Bhattacharya, 60, too faces the same challenge of having to deal with
mounting bad loans. Of Mazumdar, 63, Forbes said, she is a "self-made" leader.
Mazumdar is the chairman and managing director of Biocon Limited, a
biotechnology company based in Bangalore.
