The Wadia Group is one of the oldest conglomerates of corporate India. The group worth ₹100 billion (US$1.5 billion) in 2012, was founded by Sir Lovji Nusserwanjee Wadia in 1736. Lovji Wadia secured contracts with the British East India Company to build ships and docks in Bombay in 1736. This, and subsequent efforts, would result in Bombay becoming a strategic port for the British colonial undertakings in Asia.