“I don’t think I’ve ever invested in a more open society,” says the British entrepreneur Sanjeev Gupta. He is talking not about Britain, where his global business empire is based, or India, where he was born, but Australia. Here, he is investing at least $1 billion reviving the steelworks at Whyalla, in South Australia, and launching renewable energy projects. “Access to politicians is more open and casual than in Europe,” he says. “I have met the highest level of people here when they were dressed in shorts sitting in cafes.”
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| Renewable energy is a given: Sanjeev Gupta at the Arrium steel plant in Whyalla, South Australia, with Labor senator Kim Carr (centre)and SA Premier Jay Weatherill in September last year. |
Outwardly, at least, Gupta himself has adopted some of this casual culture. Speaking in his Sydney office, he wears a white shirt, dark blue trousers, a light blue jacket and R.M. Williams riding boots. Since he bought the failed Whyalla steelworks company Arrium out of administration six months ago, his family has moved to Australia. They live in Sydney’s eastern suburbs, where his children attend private schools. “In a short space of time, it has become home,” he says. “We have had a very accepting reception.”
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