Bangladesh's Corporate World

Beximco Ltd informed the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) that it wants to be a director of the Bangladesh Shipping Corporation, whereas the latter says it has no clue regarding the matter. On 14 November, Beximco announced on the DSE website that it has decided to participate in the Shipping Corporation's board of directors, and said that it acquired 5.25% or 80 lakh of the corporation's shares at Tk10 each. Based on Beximco's board decision from a meeting that was held on 13 November. In response to a DSE query, the corporation said it was unaware of the issue and that it did not have any communication with Beximco regarding nomination or election of members in the board of directors. The corporation further said any information about Beximco's acquisition of the corporation's shares can be known after the record date.There is no opportunity to comment now on the authenticity or viability of Beximco's announcement. Earlier, between August and September this year, th...

The bond market is more secured than the equity market and it could be a better investment option for investors, said Salman F Rahman, private industry and investment adviser to the prime minister. He made the comment at a programme titled ‘Bond market, the ultimate solution for long-term financing’ held at the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry auditorium in the capital Dhaka. Salman said that people must understand that there could be possibility of losing capital in equity investment.‘But there is no chance of losing capital in bond market investment,’ he said. There is a lack of campaign and the absence of professional experts in the bond market that should get importance now, Salman said. ‘It is a milestone for the country as trading of government treasury bonds took place today,’ he said. Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission chairman Shibli Rubayat-Ul-Islam said that popularity of the overall bond market had been rising day by day. People are gett...

 Internet freedom in Bangladesh improves after 3 years of decline Internet freedom in Bangladesh improved over the last year, following three years of decline, as internet users experienced fewer restrictions on online mobilisation, says a report by Freedom House, a US-based think tank. Bangladesh has scored 43 points out of 100, improving three notches from the year before, according to the "Freedom on the Net 2022" report, released Wednesday, indicating the country partly enjoyed internet freedom. Since 2013, Bangladesh has been consistently categorised as a "Partly Free" country on the internet freedom index of Freedom House which documents how governments censor and control the digital sphere. The report assessed the level of Internet freedom in 70 countries based on 21 indicators pertaining to obstacles to access, limits on content, and violations of user rights – between 1 June 2021 and 31 May 2022. "Internet penetration and internet speeds have improved ...

Prime Minister's Private Industry and Investment Adviser Salman F Rahman emphasized on diversification of exports and reducing imports to stabilize the currency's depreciating trend. He was speaking at a business luncheon meeting organized by Bangladesh-Malaysia Chamber of Commerce and Industry at a city hotel. Salman said the austerity measures initiated by the government and the central bank to rein in a bullish trend of import since the beginning of the second half of last fiscal year are paying dividends as import costs have shrunk to $6 billion from over $8 billion a month. "It [imports] used to be $8 billion a month, which came down to $7 billion last month and $6 billion this month. I believe our issues will be resolved pretty soon," he said. Salman said the prime minister took proactive initiatives to protect the economy in pandemic times and she did the same when the dollar prices began skyrocketing. "Alongside, Bangladesh Bank has taken initiatives to r...

Salman F Rahman, adviser on the private sector to the Prime Minister and one of the country's leading businessmen, has said all export-oriented industries should get similar facilities to meet the objective of export diversification. Salman, also a first-time MP, was speaking as the chief guest at a webinar organised by the think-tank Policy Research Institute (PRI) on improving export trade facilities. The Prime Minister's private industry and investment adviser admitted that there is a problem with bureaucracy. Although the bureaucratic mentality in the administration has changed at the highest level, at the ground level it still remains the same. Every export-oriented sector can be improved if the bureaucratic complexities are reformed, he said. "I always say that everything was confined to high-level bureaucracy earlier. But now the problem has been reduced. There is a positive mental change at the highest levels of the bureaucracy. However, problems remain at the lowe...

Bangladesh needs to highlight the shining examples of foreign companies that have achieved success after setting up businesses here, said a delegation of American investment management firm T Rowe Price Group Inc. The delegation, led by Johannes Loefstrand, portfolio manager of Frontier Markets Equity Fund, suggested successful utilisation of special economic zones and attracting foreign companies there. The recommendations came after the delegation met with officials of the international trade, investment and ICT division at the foreign ministry, said a press release. The delegation enquired about the steps taken for attracting more foreign investment, initiatives for increasing exports, activities and successes of economic zones and progress in digitalisation in Bangladesh. Syed Muntasir Mamun, the division's director general, highlighted Bangladesh's geographical position between northeastern India and south and east Asia. He cited the increasing participation of women in th...

Political stability has been the key driver to Bangladesh's economic success, said Prime Minister's private industry and investment adviser Salman F Rahman at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. "The real growth of Bangladesh has taken place for the last 14 to 15 years under the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Political stability has been the primary key to Bangladesh's economic success story", said Rahman.   While explaining the other keys to economic success, he elaborated on an example and said, "Take the electricity crisis; when Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina initially took the power 14 years ago, the country was grappling with suffocating power outages. Electricity generation was only 4,000 megawatts at the time; currently, it is about 25,000 megawatts. Bangladesh now has power in every household. However, we now create more electricity than we require at night and are on the verge of eliminating all sorts of power shortages." ...

High Commissioner of Malaysia to Bangladesh Haznah Md Hashim, along with the officials of the Malaysian High Commission have visited Beximco Industrial Park recently. Beximco Group Director and CEO Syed Naved Husain welcomed them at Beximco Industrial Park, reads a press release.   The High Commissioner was highly impressed with the advanced technologies deployed by Beximco in its Vertical Manufacturing Units and the extensive measures taken to achieve a global leadership position in Sustainability. The High Commissioner also visited Shinepukur Ceramics which produces fine Porcelain tableware products and high-end Bone-China to customers including Royal Doulton, Royal Albert and others.

  Beximco Green Sukuk al Istisna’a will give 5.8 per cent or Tk 174 crore as return to its sukukholders for the first six months of the first year.The trustee Investment Corporation of Bangladesh made the decision at a trustee committee meeting on June 2   The trustee set June 22 as record date for finding the eligible sukukholders for the entitlement of the return. The 5.8 per cent return would be payable on face value of sukuk Tk 100 each. Earlier on July 8 , 2021 , the BSEC gave approval to BEXIMCO for issuing Tk 3,000 crore Shariah-compliant green Sukuk and the sukuk made debut on January 13 this year.   Beximco Green Sukuk al Istisna’a is issued by Beximco Green-Sukuk Trust as an asset backed Shariah compliant security and the proceeds received from the subscription will be utilised for solar projects of Teesta Solar Ltd and Korotoa Solar Ltd. The tenure of the green Sukuk is five years or 60 months from the issuance date. The face value of each Sukuk...

A Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) team recently visited Beximco group's Vertical Leeds Green Certified Industrial Park last week. The team was led by the Vice-Chancellor of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) Professor Satya Prasad Majumder. From Beximco Group's side, Chairman A. S. F. Rahman and Beximco Group Director and CEO Syed Naved Husain welcomed the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology team. The Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology team was highly impressed by Beximco group's initiatives on value addition and innovation using advanced technology, education and R&D. The BUET team was very keen to be updated on Beximco's initiatives on sustainability including collaboration with recovertex, product development, optimization and sutomation, state of the art effluent treatment plant and the most advanced and largest sustainable washing plant with most advanced technologies under one ...

Beximco Pharmaceuticals has received a sublicence from the Medicines Patent Pool, a United Nations-backed public health organisation, to produce Pfizer's breakthrough Covid-19 drug Paxlovid. The pharmaceutical giant said it will manufacture the drug – which is an antiviral combination of nirmatrelvir and ritonavir – in Bangladesh after its successful technology transfer and manufacturing regulatory approvals. "We are already producing this drug," Rabbur Reza, chief operating officer at the company, told The Business Standard. "We will convert the Pfizer technology by December. Because of this agreement, now we will supply the drug to 95 low- and middle-income countries," he added. The Medicines Patent Pool (MPP) is working with an aim to increase poor countries' access to drugs. Clinical trial data has shown the pill, sold under the brand name Paxlovid, reduces the risk of hospitalisation and death from Covid by 89% if taken within three days of the onset of...

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said the development of today’s Bangladesh has only been possible as the democratic trend has been continuing for 13 consecutive years. “Today, you (people) have been seeing a changed Bangladesh for last 13 years which has only been possible because of continuation of democratic process in the country and Awami League was in power during the period,” she said. The premier made this remarks while addressing a civic reception accorded to her by expatriate Bangladeshis during her official visit to the United Arab Emirates (UAE). She joined the event virtually from her place of residence in Abu Dhabi, while Bangladeshi community people were connected from three venues -- Bangladesh Consulate in Dubai, Abu Dhabi Theatre and Bangladesh English Private School and College in Ras Al Khaimah. Mentioning that Bangladesh is marching forward and none would be able to take it back anymore, Sheikh Hasina said, “There was a black chapter in the country after 1975... ...

Janata Bank Limited has honored Beximco Group as the "best customer" at the bank's "Best Exporter Award" ceremony at a five-star hotel in the capital. The chairman of the bank Dr SM Mahfuzur Rahman handed over the "best customer" crest to Sohail F Rahman, chairman, Beximco Group, said a press release. Mahfuzur Rahman also handed over the crest for the second highest exporter to Salman Farooqi, managing director and Abdul Quddus, executive director of Multi-fabs Limited. He then handed over the crest for the third highest exporter to Syed Abu Afsar, managing director of Organic Shrimps Limited. In his welcome address, Janata Bank MD and CEO Md Abdus Salam Azad said that in 2021, Beximco Group exported goods worth Tk11, 610 crore through Janata Bank, which amounted to $1.36 billion. "Janata Bank made a total profit of Tk 707 crore through Beximco. About 79% of the bank's total export trade has been through local offices. Beximco Group provided 8...

Salman Fazlur Rahman, adviser on private industry and investment to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, said the country's shipment of pharmaceutical products may cross US$5.0-billion mark within the next three to five years. "Pharma export makes up about $1.0 billion now, but we expect to cross the $5.0-billion mark in the next three to five years," he told on the December-January issue of the fDi intelligence, a publication of the Financial Times. Bangladesh now exports pharma products to over 100 countries. He noted that the country is self-sufficient in pharmaceuticals with 99 per cent of the demand being met by local production. Bangladesh now produces around 70 per cent of its required white goods (electrical goods used domestically, such as refrigerators and microwaves). "Local companies, such as Walton, are growing at such a pace that they are now exporting their products to dozens of countries. On clothing sector, the adviser told the world's renowned magazine...

Banks resumed expanding their network in the year 2021 by opening branches after adopting a go-slow approach in the previous year when the entities were minimising their costs to tackle the Covid-induced economic fallout. According to Bangladesh Bank data, banks opened 268 branches in 2021 whereas the entities opened 103 branches in 2020.So, the number of total branches of banks increased to 10,939 at the end of December 2021 from 10,671 a year ago. In 2019, the country’s banks opened 287 branches. At the end of 2018, the number of branches of the banks was 10,281 and the number increased to 10,568 at the end of 2019. Officials of the central bank said that the banks focused on expanding their network as the country’s business and economic activities came close to normalcy after the jolt in 2020. Due to the coronavirus-induced economic jolt, most of the banks had to minimise their cost of business and that was why their branch opening dropped sharply in 2020. Along with reducing branch...

Bangladesh's capital market suffers from two major problems – infrastructure and trading trends of institutional and general investors, says Salman F Rahman, private industry and investment adviser to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. He made the observation at an event on Thursday as Beximco Green-Sukuk Al Istisna – country's first-ever asset-backed security by a private sector entity – made its trading debut on the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) and Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE). The Beximco Group vice chairman attended the programme, held at the DSE Tower in Dhaka, as chief guest.In his address, he said that two problems of the country's capital market are discussed everywhere. "One of the problems is infrastructure related and the other is trading trends of institutional and general investors in a mature market. Our market is only equity-based. This is a big weakness, and taking this in view, the securities regulator is working for the development of the debt market,...

Beximco Limited has posted another stellar growth in sales and profits in the October to December quarter of 2021. Its total sales grew to Tk1,913 crore in the three months, against Tk1,003 crore over the same period a year ago, the company said in its quarterly financial statement. As sales revenue outgrew the company's various costs, the conglomerate registered even higher growth in its net profits for the three months. In the October-December quarter, the company's net profits increased to Tk399 crore, from Tk157 crore a year ago. Beximco Ltd, holding a wide range of businesses including textile, personal protective equipment manufacturing, IT, trading, power, and services, has been enjoying a very high growth even amid the pandemic as almost all of its businesses are seeing rapid growth. Its quarterly earnings per share (EPS) rose to Tk4.56 from Tk1.78 and the net asset value (NAV) per share stood at Tk83.72. In the first half of the financial year 2021-22, the revenue of t...

The Bangladesh Bank reduced the single borrower exposure limit to 25 per cent of a bank’s capital from 35 per cent as part of its measures to contain the concentration of loans among a small group of people. Even though the total limit, including funded and non-funded ones, was reduced to 25 per cent, the funded loan portion was kept unchanged at 15 per cent of a bank’s capital. ‘The aggregate principal amount of funded and non-funded exposure to a single person or counterparty or a group shall not exceed 25 per cent of the capital at any point of time,’ said a BB circular issued. Besides, the central bank also withdrew the extra non-funded borrowing limit for exporters. Earlier, banks were allowed to extend credit up to 50 per cent of their capital to the exporters but, the facility was withdrawn in the latest BB circular. As a result, the exporters, like other bank borrowers, would get loans up to 25 per cent of a bank’s capital — 15 per cent funded and 10 per cent non-funded. An off...

Fortune Shoes brought the biggest fortune for stock investors in the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) in 2021. The Barishal-based synthetic footwear exporter, growing in significance in export markets while eyeing a slice of the rapidly expanding local market, saw its share price appreciate 390% in a year, from 15 December, 2020 to 15 December, 2021. This was even before considering the 5% stock and 10% cash dividend it announced for its shareholders.The company announced slightly higher dividends and has been posting both higher sales and profits in recent quarters. Hot on its heels was conglomerate Beximco Ltd, the stock of which was the second best performer in the DSE, registering a price appreciation of 373%. Beximco Ltd has been reporting increasingly rising earnings since the first wave of the pandemic as almost all its business divisions -- textile, IT, healthcare, and especially its new line of personal protective equipment (PPE) -- showed high revenues, while repeatedly securing ne...