Impoverished Nepal produces first billionaire: Forbes

KATHMANDU (AFP) - The impoverished Himalayan republic of Nepal, where Maoist revolutionaries came to power in 2008, has produced its first billionaire, according to a new study by Forbes magazine.

Binod Chaudhary, the 57-year-old head of the Chaudhary Group, owns popular noodle brand Wai Wai, exports herbal medicines to India and operates schools, retail outlets, banks, hospitals and telecoms companies in Nepal.

The magnate, whose family has run businesses since the 1930s, was included among 1,426 billionaires from around the world on the latest list compiled by US-based business magazine Forbes which was published on Monday.

"I'm humbled. As a businessman, you don't get a Nobel. This is my Nobel," Chaudhary, who is ranked 1,342 on the Forbes list with an estimated US$1 billion (S$1.25 billion), told Nepalese newspaper The Kathmandu Post on Tuesday.