I studied accounting and finance at the University of Calcutta in the late 1990s. Since then my working life has moved between India, the Gulf and Europe. I founded Zenith Global Limited in 2013, set up Zenith Multi Trading DMCC in Dubai in 2014 and, more recently, Plus Capital Limited in Abu Dhabi Global Market. Today I divide my time between Dubai and London.
People sometimes ask what that geography has taught me. The honest answer is that the lessons are less about markets and more about people, rules and time.
1. Jurisdiction is a strategy, not a formality
Where you register a company is not a box to tick. It decides which laws protect you, which courts hear your disputes and how partners perceive you. Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Mauritius and London each offer something different: a commodity hub, a common-law financial centre, a gateway between Africa and Asia, and one of the deepest capital markets in the world. Choosing well is part of the investment, not paperwork that follows it.
2. Currency is the silent partner
An investment can do everything right in local terms and still disappoint once it is converted back into dollars or pounds. Working across rupees, dirhams and sterling has made me respectful of currency risk. I would rather understand it at the start than explain it at the end.
3. Relationships compound like capital
In the Gulf in particular, business moves at the speed of trust. Deals that look slow from the outside are often fast once the relationship exists. The same is true everywhere, but some places are more honest about it. Investing time in people early has paid better returns for me than almost any spreadsheet.
4. Different markets, same human nature
Fear and greed speak every language. Bubbles in Mumbai, Dubai and London look remarkably similar from the inside: rising prices, confident forecasts and a sense that this time is different. Seeing the pattern repeat across regions has made me calmer, and more sceptical of anything described as a sure thing.
5. Patience travels well
The one approach that has worked in every region is the least fashionable: buy quality, think in decades and do less. Activity feels productive. Usually, it is just expensive.
6. Regulation is a feature, not a bug
Early in a career, regulation can feel like an obstacle. With experience, it starts to look like protection. Well-regulated financial centres such as Abu Dhabi Global Market and London make partners more comfortable, disputes easier to resolve and capital cheaper to raise. The cost of compliance is real, but the cost of operating somewhere without clear rules is usually higher, and it tends to arrive at the worst possible moment.
7. Local knowledge beats global theory
Every region has its own rhythm. Indian family businesses think about succession and reputation in ways that a spreadsheet will not capture. Gulf partners often weigh long-term relationships above short-term terms. European investors tend to want detail, process and documentation before anything else. A framework that works brilliantly in one place can fail politely in another. I have learned to listen first and model second.
Why the long view matters more across borders
Cross-border investing adds friction: time zones, regulation, tax, travel and the occasional misunderstanding over what "next week" means. Short-term strategies tend to be eaten alive by that friction. Long-term strategies can absorb it. That, more than anything, is why I write and invest under a simple banner: the long view.
If there is a single lesson from three regions, it is this: capital is mobile, but good judgement has to be built, slowly, wherever you are.
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