Pakistan’s mystery billionaire

“He’s the Howard Hughes of Pakistan. Nobody ever sees him. You’re the first ones (among journalists) who are going to witness him in the flesh,” said the person who ushered us into a conference room on the second floor of the recently built 26-storey Mega Corporate Tower near Teen Talwar, Clifton.Habibullah Khan is sitting at the head of a large table. With a few loose pages and a smartphone in front of him, he looks very much like a businessman. He stands up to shake our hands. He’s wearing a well-worn pair of glasses and has a Mediterranean tan.

In short, nothing in his appearance gives away the fact that he could soon be practically the single largest player in the cement industry with plants in each of the four provinces, that he owns a container terminal, runs the largest shipping and logistics businesses in the country, has just sold a real estate property in the biggest deal of its kind to Habib Bank, and will soon be setting up a six-star international hotel on the most prime piece of land in Karachi that he just acquired. He’s also the largest player in dairy after Nestle and Engro Foods.

Most importantly, he’s actively working to acquire a financial institution besides being a huge player in the energy sector, having recently acquired a major stake in Hub Power (Hubco).