Meet the Asian dragons

BRITAIN'S first two Asian billionaires have emerged amid the turmoil of the credit crunch.

London businessmen Lord Paul and Mike Jatania top the annual list of Britain's 20 richest Asians.

New entry, BBC Dragons' Den judge James Caan, who slipped in at number 20 with a fortune of £70million, attributed the success of members of the Asian community to their "cautious approach to borrowing".

The combined fortune of the 20 richest Asians is £7.46billion, up from £4.91billion last year. Metal magnate Lord Paul, 77, and his family from Marylebone, saw their wealth double from £750million to £1.5billion. Mr Jatania, 41, from Uxbridge, also swelled his family's fortune to £1billion from £850million last year with a portfolio of personal care products. The list was drawn up by the Ethnic Media Group to coincide with tonight's Eastern Eye Asian Business Awards at Wembley Stadium.

Multibillionaires Lakshmi Mittal, the steel tycoon, and the Hinduja brothers Sri and Gopi, who invest in industry, were not included as their business interests lie mainly abroad.

Lord Paul attributes the success of his firm the Caparo Group to the fact it is a family business and has a significant European export market, which has been very profitable because of the strength of the euro against the pound.

He said: "The main secret is to keep your head low, work hard and try to stay one step ahead. The credit crunch is a challenge.

"Our family is the rock underlying the business and my three sons, who run operations, know they have my support 24 hours a day."

Mr Caan, 48, who has been nominated for the Entrepreneur of the Year award, said his diverse business interest had allowed him to do well despite the downturn.

He said: "Not putting all my eggs in one basket allows me the opportunity to hedge my position when things get tough.

"I think Asian people have a generally cautious approach to borrowing."

There are only three women on the list, who all form part of husband and wife teams - Ramesh and Pratibha Sachdev at 7; Navin and Varsha Engineer at 9; and Ranjit and Baljinder Boparan at 15.

Tonight's awards will also honour female entrepreneurs in a Businesswoman of the Year category. Nominees include Geetie Singh, who runs the Duke of Cambridge organic pub in Islington.