Bangladesh's Corporate World

Salman F Rahman, country's leading businessman, a lawmaker and the Prime Minister's advisor wrote an article in ' The Business Standard ' where he illustrated how the government of Bangladesh fought the COVID-19 successfully. He mentioned that job growth rate was stable, employment generation was ongoing, agro-workers could work, freelancers could work.  Here are important parts of his interview:  The country's job growth did not get impeded too much due to the pandemic. There was a minor setback, but the job sector has already ridden it out. For example, farmers do not get enough agro-workers during the paddy harvesting season. If there had been intensive unemployment, more workers would turn up for farm work. Even industries do not get the required skilled manpower they need. Garments and pharmaceuticals have a crisis in skilled labour. He mentioned no doctor or engineer were jobless -  There is no doctor or engineer who is jobless. You will get none with vocation...

Beximco Group is going to initiate the issuance of Islamic Shahriah compliant Sukuk Al Istisna for Tk 30 billion. The decision came from the extra-ordinary general meeting of the company held virtually.This initiative is for the purpose of construction of the solar projects of Teesta Solar Ltd and Korotoa Solar Ltd— the two subsidiaries of Beximco Power Company Ltd and financing— and refinancing the machinery and equipment required for expansion of Beximco Ltd’s textile division on the following terms and conditions, subject to the approval of the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission. The meeting was presided over by Salman F Rahman, vice-chairman of the company, where, among others, Iqbal Ahmed, AB Siddiqur Rahman, Reem Shamsuddoha, Masud Ekramullah Khan, Shah Monjurul Hoque, directors, and Mohammad Asad Ullah, executive director and company secretary, were present. Shareholders unanimously approved the initiation at the meeting. The record date to determine Sukuk holders’ el...

Salman F Rahman, the prime minister's private industry and investment adviser, said Bangladeshis need a change in mindset to grow the habit of paying taxes as revenue generation is very important for inclusive development. He also laid emphasis on increasing the tax-GDP ratio, pointing out that it was relatively low in the South Asian region. "In the last fiscal, the NBR (National Board of Revenue) was able to bring 55,000 new taxpayers under the net. Still, we have to widen the tax net," he said. He was addressing a call on by Rizwan Rahman, president of the Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI), and its board of directors.   "The government is also working to upgrade and modernise the overall revenue structure," he said. A third terminal is being constructed at the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport. There is a plan to soon upgrade the Cox's Bazar airport to that of international standard, the adviser added. Bangladesh has to meet 27 conditions...

Beximco Pharmaceuticals announced it would acquire 54.6 per cent shares in Sanofi Bangladesh. The base price for the transaction agreed between Sanofi Group and Beximco Pharma is £35.5m but it may go up to £40m. The proposed acquisition is subject to government's clearance including necessary approval of the transaction by the Bangladesh Bank and completion of a definitive sale and purchase agreement. Industries ministry holds nearly 25.36 percent and Bangladesh Chemical Industries Corporations holds around 19.96 percent shares of Sanofi Bangladesh. "We are delighted to announce the proposed acquisition of a majority stake in Sanofi Bangladesh. If approved, it will be the second strategic acquisition in the company's history, following that of Nuvista Pharma Limited (formerly Organon Bangladesh) in 2018," said Beximco Pharma Managing Director Nazmul Hassan. "This acquisition of Sanofi Bangladesh will serve as a strong foundation for sustainable growth in the futu...

 Country's leading drug manufacturer Beximco Pharmaceuticals Ltd.  will import 10,00,000 doses of Covid-19 vaccine for the private sector. This is in addition to the 3,00,00,000 doses for the government level. The additional doses will also arrive in the first phase, and Beximco will make the vaccine available to both the private sector frontliners and the general populace. Each dose will have a retail price of around Tk1,200 and any fees imposed by the government will be applicable too. Speaking with The Business Standard , Beximco Pharma's Chief Operating Officer Rabbur Reza said, "We have confirmed additional orders for Covid-19 vaccine, and imports might increase in the coming days." The vaccine doses imported at the government level will be distributed on a priority basis among frontliners such as public health workers, and people aged 60 and older. Beximco Pharma said the additional doses are being imported to safeguard the private sector frontliners. However, t...

Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal expressed high optimism that more foreign direct investment will come in the country in the coming days since necessary physical infrastructures are being built in Bangladesh. Prime Minister’s Private Sector Industry and Investment Affairs Adviser Salman F Rahman agreed to the Finance Minister's optimism. The Finance Minister addressed the 4th Founding Anniversary of Bangladesh Investment Development Authority virtually as the chief guest and said “I believe that more investment will come in the country since necessary physical infrastructures have been built here and also are being built. Now we’ll have to look into non-physical infrastructures as we’ll have to touch the hearts of people (investors). Mentioning that the FDI trend of Bangladesh is still low compared to the other countries, the Finance Minister said, “All the investors including local and foreign ones are equal to the government and they won’t be subject to any discrimination. They...

Beximco Pharma, is a generic drug player committed to providing access to affordable medicines. It's state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities have been accredited by the regulatory authorities of USA, Australia, European Union, Canada, and Brazil, among others, and it currently focuses on building presence in many emerging and developed markets around the world. The company received US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for flecainide acetate 50mg, 100mg and 150mg tablets. The company announced this last week. Flecainide acetate is the generic equivalent to 3M Pharmaceuticals' 'Tambocor'. Beximco Pharma was founded in 1976 and started operations in 1980, manufacturing products under the licenses of Bayer AG of Germany and Upjohn Inc. of United States. Today Beximco Pharma manufactures and markets its own branded generics for several diseases including AIDS, cancer, asthma, hypertension, and diabetes for both national and international markets. It was the first...