Noble

Noble: Reuters says Harindarpal Banga ,who carved out a 20yr career at Noble and last served as its Vice Chairman emeritus, plans a return to the industry in a new trading firm with his two sons. The 63 yr old has amassed a US$1b war chest to splurge on the newly formed Caravel Group while luring 10 to 20 former Noble colleagues to join the venture, including former Noble staff in HK and at its iron ore business in Beijing. Banga will formally launch Hong Kong-based Caravel on Friday. The firm - named after a 15th and 16th century Portuguese exploration and trading vessel - has already set up its headquarters, including trading desks, in a swish building in Hong Kong's Wan Chai district, less than 500 metres from Noble's offices. The move will put Banga - once described as "the heart and soul of Noble" by company founder Richard Elman - in competition with his former employer. Caravel will trade commodities and related derivatives, and will also be active in shipping, asset management and private equity investment. But Caravel would not follow Noble into agribusinesses or investing in commodities assets, Banga said. This is a target growth area for Noble, which has invested in facilities such as oilseed processing plants in China and sugar mills in Brazil. "It will be like the old Noble used to be," Banga said in a phone interview. Caravel will concentrate on trading and shipping commodities such as iron ore, thermal and coking coal, nickel ore and manganese, mainly in the Asia Pacific. Banga still holds ~US$116m worth of Noble shares. He sold 225m Noble shares in Nov '13 for $248m