Chaudhary Group

Chaudhary Group, also known as CG Corp Global, is a diversified business group headquartered in Nepal. Founded and led by industrialist Binod Chaudhary, the group has developed from a Kathmandu-based family trading enterprise into an international conglomerate with operations and investments across multiple continents. Its disclosed business interests cover consumer packaged goods, financial services, banking, insurance, remittance, hospitality, education, consumer electronics, telecommunications, real estate, energy, biotechnology and alternative medicine. The group's commercial roots extend to the late eighteenth century, when Bhuramull Chaudhary, a Marwari businessman from the Shekhawati region of present-day Rajasthan, moved to Nepal at the invitation of the Rana rulers. He initially sold clothing to the royal household and affluent customers in Kathmandu before establishing a store. In the twentieth century, Lunkaran Das Chaudhary expanded the family's trading activities. He exported jute to the United States and Europe in the early 1960s and imported garments and consumer electronics from Japan, South Korea, Europe and India. In 1968 he opened Arun Emporium, described as Nepal's first department store. A major turning point came with the group's entry into branded instant noodles. With technical assistance from the Thai company associated with Wai Wai, Chaudhary Group introduced Wai Wai noodles in Nepal in 1985. It subsequently built manufacturing capacity in Nepal and India and pursued further expansion in countries including Bangladesh, Serbia, Kazakhstan and Saudi Arabia. Wai Wai became the group's best-known consumer brand and an important international representation of Nepalese-origin manufacturing, while the group also developed or distributed other noodle labels. In Nepal, Chaudhary Group has interests in financial services through holdings and affiliated companies associated with Nabil Bank, CG Finco, United Remit, United Finance and United Insurance. Its hospitality arm, CG Hotels and Resorts, operates hotel properties and has pursued additional real-estate and hospitality projects. Its education portfolio has included schools and colleges operating under names such as Chandbagh, Campion and Delhi Public School in Nepal, as well as overseas education interests. The group also assembles and distributes consumer electronics in Nepal, including smartphones, televisions, refrigerators, washing machines, microwaves and vacuum cleaners. It has dealt in international brands including LG, TCL, Intex, Godrej and Kelvinator. In telecommunications, the group announced an arrangement with Huawei concerning the development of 4G services in Nepal, although the full commercial outcome and current status of that initiative require verification. Beyond commercial activity, the Chaudhary Foundation has undertaken disaster-recovery and social projects. Following the April 2015 Nepal earthquake, it committed to transitional shelters and school reconstruction, later shifting toward permanent housing and a model-village approach as government standards changed. The group also organized Miss Universe Nepal 2020 through CG Corp, positioning the event as an inclusive national beauty-pageant platform. Chaudhary Group's scale and political-economic importance have also generated scrutiny. Public reporting has associated the group and Binod Chaudhary with allegations involving tax practices, financial irregularities, political connections, land ownership and construction approvals. These matters include controversy surrounding the former Bansbari Shoe Factory land, allegations concerning a public road near Apollo Steel Industries in Satungal, and procedural and environmental-approval questions involving Hotel Summit. Binod Chaudhary was also identified in reporting on the 2021 Pandora Papers, with questions raised about offshore structures and Nepalese restrictions on foreign assets; his family has disputed wrongdoing and stated t…

Chaudhary Group traces its family-business history to Bhuramull Chaudhary, a Marwari trader from the Shekhawati area of Rajasthan who came to Nepal in the late eighteenth century at the request of the Rana rulers. He began by selling clothing directly to members of the royal household and wealthy Kathmandu customers, later establishing a store. This early trading activity created the family's long-term commercial base in Nepal. Lunkaran Das Chaudhary laid the foundations of the modern group. In the early 1960s, when Nepal's international trade was still heavily constrained, he exported jute to markets in the United States and Europe. He also imported garments and electronic goods from Japan, South Korea, Europe and India. In 1968 he opened Arun Emporium, regarded as Nepal's first department store, giving the family a more formal retail platform and broadening its consumer-goods presence. Under Binod Chaudhary, the enterprise developed into a diversified corporate group. Its most visible consumer-goods expansion began in 1985, when Chaudhary Group introduced Wai Wai instant noodles to Nepal with technical assistance from the Thai company connected with the brand. The group later established four noodle factories in Nepal and six in India, while pursuing additional facilities and market expansion in Bangladesh, Serbia, Kazakhstan and Saudi Arabia. Wai Wai became the group's signature international product, and the wider noodle portfolio included additional labels such as Mimi and Xpress Noodles. The group subsequently broadened its activities beyond manufacturing. Its financial-services interests include a controlling stake in Nabil Bank and operations or investments associated with CG Finco, United Remit, United Finance and United Insurance. Through CG Hotels and Resorts, it entered hospitality and hotel operations. It also developed education interests through Chandbagh schools, Campion schools and colleges, and Delhi Public School in Nepal, along with stakes in overseas education businesses including AEC Education and Malvern House in the United Kingdom. CG expanded into consumer electronics by assembling and distributing appliances and devices such as televisions, refrigerators, washing machines, microwaves, vacuum cleaners and smartphones. It has also imported or distributed external brands, including LG, TCL, Intex, Godrej and Kelvinator. Other stated sectors include energy, telecommunications, real estate, biotechnology and alternative medicine. A reported agreement with Huawei concerned the launch of 4G services in Nepal. The group's public profile has included philanthropic activity through the Chaudhary Foundation. After Nepal's April 2015 earthquake, the foundation committed to constructing 10,000 transitional shelters and 100 schools for affected communities. It later reported handovers of shelters and school buildings, then moved toward permanent housing and a model-village project in response to government requirements. CG Corp also entered event and cultural promotion by organizing Miss Universe Nepal 2020. The event was presented as an inclusive competition for selecting Nepal's delegate to the international Miss Universe pageant. The conglomerate and its chairman have faced recurring public allegations and investigations. These include accusations of tax evasion, financial irregularities and market power concerns, as well as questions about relationships with political figures across Nepal's monarchy and republican periods. A prominent dispute concerns the alleged privatization and subsequent control of land associated with the state-owned Bansbari Shoe Factory. Apollo Steel Industries, a CG subsidiary, has also faced community allegations that a public road in Satungal was appropriated and enclosed. Hotel Summit-related development has drawn questions about local approvals and environmental-impact requirements. In 2021, Binod Chaudhary's name appeared in Pandora Papers reporting concerning offshore arrangements and Nepalese restrictions on foreign assets. Available reference material records denials or claims of legal compliance, while the full legal status and resolution of these matters require separate verification.

1. 2021Pandora Papers controversy reported

   Binod Chaudhary was named in reporting related to the Pandora Papers, prompting questions about offshore structures and foreign-asset restrictions.

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2. 2020Miss Universe Nepal organized by CG Corp

   CG Corp organized the 2020 Miss Universe Nepal competition.

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3. 2015Earthquake-recovery program expanded

   The Chaudhary Foundation committed to transitional shelters and school reconstruction following Nepal's major earthquake.

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4. 1985Wai Wai entered Nepal

   Chaudhary Group introduced Wai Wai instant noodles to Nepal with technical assistance from the Thai company associated with the brand.

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5. 1968Arun Emporium opened

   Lunkaran Das Chaudhary opened Arun Emporium, described as Nepal's first department store.

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6. Bhuramull Chaudhary established the family's Nepalese trading roots

   Bhuramull Chaudhary came to Nepal from the Shekhawati region and began trading clothing with royal and affluent customers in Kathmandu.

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A Nepal-origin, family-controlled multinational conglomerate combining mass-market consumer brands with investments in finance, hospitality, education, electronics, infrastructure and other sectors.

• Wai WaiInstant noodles1985

  Wai Wai is Chaudhary Group's best-known consumer brand. Introduced in Nepal in 1985 with technical assistance from the Thai company associated with the brand, it became the foundation of CG's international packaged-food business. The group built manufacturing capacity in Nepal and India and has pursued additional production and distribution facilities in several Asian, European and Middle Eastern markets.

• MimiInstant noodles

  Mimi is an instant-noodle label associated with Chaudhary Group's broader noodle portfolio. It has been distributed in India and was subject to a temporary regulatory ban in Assam during a period of heightened scrutiny of instant noodles; the supplied reference states that the noodles were later found not to contain lead or other harmful materials.

• Xpress NoodlesInstant noodles

  Xpress Noodles is another CG-associated noodle product line. A product segment was temporarily prohibited in Tamil Nadu in 2015 amid broader concerns about lead levels in instant-noodle products, and the supplied reference states that the relevant products were subsequently declared safe.

• CG ElectronicsConsumer electronics

  CG Electronics assembles and distributes consumer devices and household appliances in Nepal. Its reported categories include smartphones, televisions, refrigerators, washing machines, microwave ovens and vacuum cleaners. The group has also imported or distributed third-party brands such as LG, TCL, Intex, Godrej and Kelvinator.

• CG Hotels and ResortsHospitality

  CG Hotels and Resorts is the group's hospitality arm. It operates hotels and resorts and has been involved in development activity connected with the group's wider real-estate and tourism interests.

• 2020Miss Universe Nepal 2020

  Nepal

  CG Corp organized Miss Universe Nepal 2020 to select Nepal's delegate to the international Miss Universe competition and presented the event as inclusive.

  Outcome. The supplied reference describes the event as successful, but does not provide independently verified audience or commercial figures.

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• 2015Earthquake shelter and school reconstruction

  Nepal

  The Chaudhary Foundation responded to Nepal's earthquake by committing to build 10,000 transitional shelters and 100 schools. It later shifted toward permanent housing and a model-village approach as government standards changed.

  Outcome. The supplied reference reports that 2,500 shelters and 40 school buildings had been handed over, with further work redirected toward permanent structures.

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• 2015Response to temporary noodle restrictions in IndiaOther

  Indian regulators temporarily restricted CG-associated noodle products during wider scrutiny of lead levels in instant noodles.

  What changed. The affected products were removed or restricted in the relevant Indian states while testing and regulatory review took place.

  Aftermath. The supplied reference states that the products were later declared safe after testing found no lead or harmful materials.

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• 1985Launch of Wai Wai in NepalProduct launch

  The group sought to expand from trading and retail into branded food manufacturing.

  What changed. CG introduced Wai Wai instant noodles in Nepal with technical assistance from the Thai company associated with the brand.

  Aftermath. Wai Wai became the group's principal international consumer brand and supported expansion of noodle manufacturing in Nepal, India and other markets.

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• Expansion into telecommunicationsStrategy

  CG sought to extend its diversified portfolio into Nepal's telecommunications market.

  What changed. The group entered into a reported agreement with Huawei concerning a proposed 4G service.

  Aftermath. The supplied material does not establish the final launch, scale or current status of the service.

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• 2021Pandora Papers and offshore-asset questionsControversy

  Binod Chaudhary was named in the Pandora Papers. Reporting raised questions about the use of foreign structures and possible circumvention of Nepalese restrictions on overseas assets and capital controls. Family representatives denied unlawful conduct and asserted compliance with the law.

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• 1987Apollo Steel Industries Satungal land disputeControversy

  Local residents have accused Apollo Steel Industries, a CG subsidiary, of enclosing and taking control of a public road in Satungal, Kathmandu. The supplied reference says the dispute dates to 1987 and that the road remained closed to the public.

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• Bansbari Shoe Factory land controversyControversy

  Chaudhary Group has faced allegations that shares connected with the privatization of the government-owned Bansbari Shoe Factory were taken over in a way that enabled control of associated land. The supplied material describes the matter as an investigation and allegation, not as a finally adjudicated finding.

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• Hotel Summit approval and environmental-review allegationsControversy

  Development connected with Hotel Summit has been criticized over alleged failures to obtain local approval and to complete mandatory environmental-impact assessment procedures.

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• 2020CG organized Miss Universe Nepal 2020

  CG Corp took responsibility for organizing Miss Universe Nepal 2020, an event intended to select Nepal's representative for Miss Universe.

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• 1985CG introduced Wai Wai noodles in Nepal

  Chaudhary Group entered the instant-noodle business in Nepal with technical assistance connected to the Wai Wai brand.

  Product launch
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• CG expanded noodle manufacturing in Nepal and India

  The group built multiple factories and expanded production and distribution of Wai Wai and other noodle brands across South Asia and additional international markets.

  Product generation
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• CG announced a Huawei-linked 4G initiative in Nepal

  Chaudhary Group signed an arrangement reported as being worth one million dollars with Huawei to support a proposed 4G telecommunications service in Nepal.

  Product launch
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1. Chaudhary Group