Nishita Shah, 28, a businesswoman of Indian origin in Thailand has been named in the Forbes list of next generation billionaires.

A business graduate from Boston University, Shah is the managing director of Thailand's 140-year-old diversified GP Group, and one of the richest people in Thailand thanks to her shareholding in her family's sprawling business empire, with an estimated net worth at $375 million.

Shah is largest individual shareholder and director of Precious Shipping, Thailand's biggest dry-bulk shipper, with a 44-ship fleet making it amongst one of the largest, in this segment. This company was started by her father Kirit in 1989 and went public in 1993.

Shah is a director in over 40 group companies spread across 20 countries.

Her family had migrated from India to Burma and finally settled in Thailand. Her father's grandfather and great-great-grandfather, originally from Gujarat, used to trade in rice in Bombay and Rangoon, which was an Indian colony under the British. After the Burmese coup in 1962, they moved to the company's branch office to Bangkok, started by her great-grandfather in 1918.

She was made GP's managing director last year by her father, Kirit Shah. Precious Shipping, accounts for most of GP's value where she holds almost  42-per cent of the family's stake. With an estimated net worth of $375 million, her family has been ranked 19th on the Forbes list of Thailand's richest.

Shah holds a private pilot's license and enjoys yoga and surfing. Her other interest is in fashion designing and plans to launch her own fashion label, Nasha  which means intoxicated in Sanskrit, across the world by the  end of the year. 1 million for her business.

She is well versed in the family business and is said to be able to hold her own on discusions ranging from recycled aluminum prices and commodities-trading software to the Baltic Dry Index.

According to Forbes, after the tsunami of 2004 she helped in the relief operations and personally raised more than $100,000 through her contacts.