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Success Story of Mr. Malik Riaz –

The Owner of Bahria Town

Submitted to: Jawad Saboor

 Submitted by: Mehdi Raza

FA06-BBA-053

Success Story of an Entrepreneur

Mr. Malik Riaz – Owner of the
Bahria Town
Bahria Town’s Background

Bahria Town was established in the year 1996. The main objective was to build not
only homes but several value-added, master planned commercial projects that
would contribute to the economic development of the country. The chairman/CEO
Mr. Malik Riaz got a contract to develop 2,388 kanals of Revenue Employees
Cooperative Housing Society land. Although several controversies have affected the
image of Bahria Town, yet it has been successful to maintain the impression of a
luxury housing society.
Mr. Malik Riaz’s Background

Although Malik Riaz belonged to a wealthy family, his father’s contracting business
collapsed when he was just 19. By that time, he began his career as a ‘lowly clerk’
in Islamabad. Although there is no information available on his educational stream,
some close to the entrepreneur say that he is a real intelligent person. He has been
so poor during the initial years of his marriage that he did not have money to
purchase medicine for his infant daughter. According to him, he never forgets
being poor and that keeps him modest and generous. In the late 1970s, he was
given loan by a friend to invest in contracting business. Riaz worked day and night
for the success of his business and proved himself as a great business man. With
the passage of time, his business and experience grew and he moved on to
Malaysia for further projects. During his stay at Malaysia, he decided to introduce a
world class luxury housing society in Pakistan and in the year 1996, he launched
Bahria Town.

Early Days of Bahria Town

During its initial days, Bahria Town was no less than a paradise in the jungle. There
were hills and mountains all around and people were quite hesitant to invest. But
then, with the passage of time and awareness provided through media, Bahria
Town started to gain popularity with people. In fact, just as DHA, Bahria Town
became of the most trusted housing societies of Pakistan.

Although there is no exact count of employees available, it is said that Bahria Town
emerged as one of the most leading conglomerates that brought employment to the
country. At this point in time, Bahria Town has more than 21,000 employees in
different parts of the world and is looking forward to hire some more for its further
projects in Murree and Karachi.

Bahria Town – A Journey of Success

Bahria Town which began as a housing society in the year 1996 is working on a
number of existing and potential housing and commercial projects. The company
operates in three cities at present namely, Rawalpindi, Islamabad and Lahore and it
is looking forward to expand in Murree and Karachi as well.
During the course of its success, Bahria Town launched several housing, commercial
and welfare projects. These include:

 Safari Villas

 Safari Apartments

 Safari Valley

 Bahria Homes

 Meadows

 Executive Lodges

 Bahria University

 ACE Academy

 Commercial Zones

 Bahria Town Dastar Khwan and many others.

Some of the reasons behind Bahria Town’s success include:

 Capable human resource

 Exceptional security system

 Clean and healthy environment

 Strict rules and regulations for every person who resides or operates
business within the boundaries of Bahria Town

 CEO Malik Riaz’s honest efforts and maintenance programs.

In addition to these strengths, Bahria Town has been involved in various affiliate
programs which contributed to its positive image and long-term success. At present,
Bahria Town is partners with DHAI, OJMR (Los Angeles) and Starwood Hotels and
Resorts.

Mr. Malik Riaz as an Entrepreneur

When it comes to entrepreneurship, Malik Riaz is one of the names that come to the
minds of many. In fact, Entrepreneurship has itself found new meanings in the
personality of Mr. Malik Riaz. He attributes his success to his hard work and faith in
Allah. According to him, he sets aside 2.5% of the profits and disburses to the
charity.
Mr. Malik Riaz possesses the following entrepreneurial traits:

Bold and Confident

No matter what it takes, Mr. Malik Riaz would always stand by his words. We have a
practical example for this. Mr. Riaz wanted to make Bahria Town a trusted
corporation and he has always been partnering with conglomerates like DHA and
Starwood Resorts to enhance credibility.

A “never, never, never quit” Attitude

Riaz’s never-quit attitude is one of the most prominent reasons behind his success.
When he began operation in Pakistan, he was forced to give up by political,
economic and competitive forces. But then, he found his way in the interests of
both the country and its politicians.

Devoted disproportionate time to the Business

Riaz’s restless nature has contributed a lot to his success. He is always producing
new ideas and providing ways for their practical implementation.

Always seeks Personal Satisfaction

Mr. Malik Riaz would always do things which he enjoys and once he’s finished,
he achieves personal satisfaction. The whole Bahria Town project was no less
than a dream to him and he has done his very best to realize it.

Manages Money Wisely

Although he has not taken formal accounting education, Riaz is too good with
numbers. He keeps himself updated with the real estate market and manages his
money in the most appropriate manner. For instance, when Riaz was about to
launch Bahria Homes (8 Marla Houses), he asked all the Safari Home owners to sell
their homes back to him at two times of the purchasing price. The owners did and
he launched those Bahria and Safari Homes at five times of the original price. He is
an expert when it comes to cash/money management.

Knows his Customers

Malik Riaz understands the psyche of Pakistani customers. He knows that the
ultimate dream of a Pakistani national is to have a house of his own and his housing
schemes target almost all income groups.

And besides these characteristics, Mr. Malik Riaz stays organized, gets involved
in the operations and is easily accessible to the customers and employees.

Future Challenges
Although Mr. Riaz has realized his dreams, he’s still looking forward to a number
of projects in future. Some of his upcoming projects include:

 Bahria Garden City

  Bahria Golf City

 Bahria Paradise

 Bahria Icon

 Ahram-e-Misr

In addition to Bahria Town’s upcoming projects, I would like to place some of my

own suggestions/recommendations that might benefit the development of this great
society. They include:

 Bahria Town should link its first 6 phases with phase 7, 8 and 9 through a
Fly Over. This will double the prices of lands and houses as it would
become accessible from within the old Bahria Bridge.

 Malik Riaz should introduce some more housing schemes for the
ordinary average class – especially the lower middle class.

 In order to quadruple sales, Bahria Town should initiate mortgage loans.

In fact, they should enhance the installment period/tenure so that more
and more people could have their own houses.

 Fresh graduates should be employed so as to benefit from honest efforts

and cheap cost of human resource.