Bashundhara Group[1](Bengali:বসুন্ধরা গ্রুপ) is aBangladeshiconglomerate[2]and one of the largest manufacturing companies inBangladesh.It was incorporated in 1987[3]as a real estate company under the name East West Property Development Ltd (EWPD). After its first project turned out to be successful, the company grew quickly. It presently owns more than 50 major concerns throughoutBangladesh.The company's import-export turnover was $1.12 billion or BDT 111.38 billion in the 2022-23 fiscal year.[4]In the 2018 fiscal year, the company's real estate holdings amounted to BDT 50,000 crores, or $4.6 billion.[5]

Bashundhara Group
Native name
বসুন্ধরা গ্রুপ
Company typePrivate
IndustryReal estate, manufacturing
Founded1987;37 years ago(1987)
FounderAhmed Akbar Sobhan
HeadquartersPushpanjali, Bashundhara Convention Center Road,
Bangladesh
Key people
ProductsCement,tissue,media, LPG, paper, real estate, shopping mall, steel, food & beverage, shipping, sports
OwnerAhmed Akbar Sobhan& family
Number of employees
700,000+
Websitebashundharagroup

History

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Bashundhara Group, founded byAhmed Akbar Sobhan,[6]began in 1987 as a real estate venture. After its first successful project, Bashundhara invested in new fields, including manufacturing, industry and trading. More enterprises were established in the early 1990s; these included cement, paper, pulp, tissue paper and steel production, as well as LP Gas bottling and distribution. Bashundhara received permission from theBangladesh Economic Zones Authorityto set up two specialized economic zones inKeraniganj,Dhaka,Bangladesh.[7]

Investments

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  • In 2013, Bashundhara invested $181 million in the food sector, producing a wide range of products including flour, wheat, red meat, etc.[8]
  • In 2020, Bashundhara invested $143.7 million to build the largest bitumen plant in Bangladesh. This factory was intended to aid the country in becoming self-sufficient in bitumen production.[9]
  • In 2020, Bashundhara got involved in the coal trading market, with a notable example of supply 8 million tonnes of coal to the Rampal coal-fired power plant.[10]
  • In 2021, Bashundhara invested $909 million to create an oil refinery on 220 acres of land in the Sitakunda upazilla of the country's port city of Chattogram.[11]
  • In 2022, Bashundhara invested $546 million into creating Bangladesh's first gold refinery on 470 acres of land near the Dhaka-Purbachal highway[12]
  • In 2022, Bashundhara Multi-Steel Industries invested $395 million for phase-1 of a steel manufacturing plant at Bashundhara Industrial Economic Zone at Bangabandhu Shilpa Nagar in Chattogram. The phase-2 investment of $727 million will be initiated in 2025, bringing the company's annual steel production to 3 million tonnes.[13]
  • In 2022, ABG Limited, a concern of Bashundhara group signed an agreement with the Chittagong Stock Exchange to acquire 25% of its shares for BDT 240 crore in line with the country's demutualisation act.[14]
  • In 2023, Bashundhara Telecommunications Limited submitted a proposal to the Post and Telecommunications division of the country to become a strategic investor of the struggling state owned carrier TeleTalk. The proposal outlines a plan to develop the network, enhance customer service and upgrade the systems of TeleTalk, which has made losses in all but the first two years of its 19-year-existence.[15]

Enterprises

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Bashundhara Group now operates over 50 concerns:

  1. East West Property Development (Pvt) Limited[16]
  2. Meghna Cement Mills Limited[17]
  3. Bashundhara Shipping Lines Limited[18]
  4. Bashundhara Shipping Limited
  5. Bashundhara Logistics Limited[19]
  6. Bashundhara Horticulture Limited[18]
  7. Bashundhara Chemical Industries Limited[18]
  8. Bashundhara Trading Company Limited[18]
  9. Bashundhara International Trade Center Limited[18]
  10. Bashundhara Multi Trading Limited
  11. Bashundhara General Trading LLC Dubai
  12. Bashundhara Employment Services[20]
  13. Bashundhara Electricity Limited[18]
  14. Bashundhara Infrastructure Development Limited[18]
  15. Bashundhara Import Export Limited[18]
  16. Bashundhara Agricultural Products Limited[18]
  17. Bashundhara Multi Agricultural Company Limited[18]
  18. Bashundhara Multi Paper Industries Limited[18]
  19. Bashundhara Amusement Park Limited[18]
  20. Bashundhara Oil and Gas Company Limited[18]
  21. Bashundhara Multipurpose Port Limited[18]
  22. Bashundhara Textile Mills Limited[18]
  23. Bashundhara Airways Limited[18]
  24. Bashundhara Multi Food Products Limited[18]
  25. Bashundhara Technologies Limited[18]
  26. Bashundhara Paper Mills Limited[21]
  27. Bashundhara Fine Paper Limited[22]
  28. Bashundhara Pulp & Board Mills Limited[22]
  29. Bashundhara LP Gas Limited[23]
  30. Bashundhara City Development Limited[24]
  31. Bashundhara Steel Complex Limited[25]
  32. Bashundhara Industrial Complex Limited[26]
  33. Bashundhara Steel And Engineering Limited[27]
  34. Bashundhara Multi Steel Industries[28]
  35. Bashundhara Foundation[29]
  36. Bashundhara Convention Center[30]
  37. Bashundhara Dredging Company Limited[31]
  38. Bashundhara Technical Institute[32]
  39. Bashundhara Telecommunications Network Limited[33]
  40. Bashundhara Food and Beverage Industries Limited[34]
  41. Sundarban Industrial Complex Limited[35]
  42. Bashundhara Cement Industries Limited[36]
  43. Bashundra Toiletries Limited[37]
  44. Bashundhara Pre-Fabricated Building Manufacturing Industries[28]
  45. Dhaka Multi Agricultural Complex Limited
  46. Sea Real Estate Developers Limited
  47. East West Media Group[38]
  48. Bashundhara Kings
  49. Rangpur Riders
  50. Kebab Turki Baba Rafi(Bangladesh)
  51. Toggi Services Limited[39]
  52. Bir Cement Limited[40]

Bashundhara City

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Bashundhara City(Bengali:বসুন্ধরা সিটি) is the second-largest shopping mall of Bangladesh. Construction of the shopping mall began in 1998; Mohammad Foyes Ullah andMustapha Khalid Palashof Vistara designed the building. Opened to the public on 6 August 2004,[41]the mall is located at Panthapath, near Karwan Bazar, in Dhaka city and cost over $100 million to complete. Bashundhara City is 21 stories tall, of which 8 are used for the mall, which houses hundreds of Bangladeshi fashion houses and jewelry shops, as well as around 100 food outlets which sell foods like French fries, burgers, fried chicken, etc.[42]

Despite experiencing two significant fires, the second-largest shopping mall in Bangladesh remains a prominent establishment in the heart of the city. The first fire occurred on March 13, 2009, resulting in the deaths of 7 people and injuries to 20 others. The second incident, which took place in 2016, did not result in any casualties.[43]

Bashundhara Residential Area

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Media ventures

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Bashundhara Group has diversified its business interests across various sectors, including real estate and the steel industry. In 2009, the group launched East West Media Group Ltd., which now operates several major media outlets in Bangladesh. These include two television channels, one FM radio station, an online newspaper, and three print media publications.

The Bengali-language national daily newspapers owned by East West Media Group areKaler KanthoandBangladesh Pratidin.[44]The group also publishes the English-language newspaperDaily Sun.[45]Additionally, the online news portalbanglanews24provides content in both Bengali and English.[46]

The television channels owned by the group includeNews24andT-Sports,while Radio Capital is its FM radio station.

See also

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References

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  1. ^"Stay alert to check militancy".The Daily Star.UNB. 2016-08-09.Retrieved2016-08-11.
  2. ^"Bashundhara Group is one of the largest and leading companies in all of Bangladesh".Archived fromthe originalon 2012-04-20.Retrieved2012-03-04.
  3. ^"Bashundhara Official Profile".Archived fromthe originalon 2012-03-17.Retrieved2012-03-04.
  4. ^Milad, Masud (2023-09-18)."8 local business conglomerates enter billion-dollar club".Prothom Alo.Retrieved2023-10-28.
  5. ^Alo, Jebun Nesa (2018-03-17)."All set for mega oil refinery".The Daily Star.Retrieved2023-10-28.
  6. ^"Supreme Court orders Bashundhara Group chief to surrender in tax evasion case".bashundharagroup.Retrieved2016-08-11.
  7. ^"Bashundhara to build two economic zones".The Daily Star.2016-07-27.Retrieved2016-08-11.
  8. ^Islam, A. K. M. zahidul."Bashundhara Invests Tk 2000cr in Food Sector for Quality atta, flour, suji to hit market soon".Bashundhara Invests Tk 2000cr in Food Sector for Quality atta, flour, suji to hit market soon.Retrieved2023-12-14.
  9. ^"Bashundhara builds Bangladesh's biggest bitumen plant".The Daily Star.2020-02-23.Retrieved2020-07-02.
  10. ^"Bashundhara Group wins bid to supply 8m MT of coal to Rampal power plant".The Business Standard.2023-02-07.Retrieved2023-12-14.
  11. ^"Bashundhara's mega oil refinery will reduce import, cost of gas".Dhaka Tribune.28 July 2021.
  12. ^"Involve private banks in Bashundhara Gold Refinery project: BB instructs banks".The Business Standard.February 10, 2022.
  13. ^"Bashundhara goes big to utilise first-mover advantage".The Business Standard.2022-11-08.Retrieved2023-12-14.
  14. ^"Bashundhara's concern signs deal with CSE to buy 25pc stakes".New Age (Bangladesh).Retrieved2023-12-14.
  15. ^Hasan, Mahmudul (2023-09-28)."Bashundhara seeks to invest in Teletalk".The Daily Star.Retrieved2023-12-14.
  16. ^"Bashundhara chairman sued for 'fraud'".The Daily Star.2011-12-18.Retrieved2016-08-11.
  17. ^"Chinese national among two dead after 'inhaling poisonous gas' in abandoned barge in Mongla".bdnews24.2016-08-08.Retrieved2016-08-11.
  18. ^abcdefghijklmnopqr"Directors Profile | Meghna Cement Limited".meghnacement.Retrieved2019-11-13.
  19. ^"Bashundhara Logistics Ltd".bashundharagroup.Archived fromthe originalon 2016-08-14.Retrieved2016-08-11.
  20. ^"Home".Bashundhara Employment Services.
  21. ^"DoE fines three factories of Bashundhara, Ha-Meem groups".bdnews24.2014-08-24.Retrieved2016-08-11.
  22. ^abMarketScreener."Ahmed Akbar Sobhan - Biography".marketscreener.Retrieved2019-11-15.
  23. ^"LPG price hike: Traders take advantage of Ramadan".Dhaka Tribune.Archived fromthe originalon 2016-08-29.Retrieved2016-08-11.
  24. ^"Scared shoppers send sales plummeting".Prothom Alo.Archived fromthe originalon 2016-08-07.Retrieved2016-08-11.
  25. ^Yohan."Bashundhara Steel Complex Limited - Bashundhara Steel Complex Limited".bashundharasteel.Retrieved2016-08-11.
  26. ^"Akbar, sons, wife get 8 years for tax evasion".The Daily Star.2007-09-30.Retrieved2016-08-11.
  27. ^root."Bashundhara Steel and Engineering Limited".bashundharagroup.Retrieved2016-08-11.
  28. ^ab"Bashundhara Group to fork out Tk 4,350cr to set up three factories at BSMSN".The Daily Star.2020-08-18.Retrieved2020-08-18.
  29. ^"Bashundhara Foundation".bashundharafoundation.Retrieved2016-08-11.
  30. ^"Ex-NSU student 'missing' from Ctg, rescued in Dhaka".The Daily Star.2016-08-04.Retrieved2016-08-11.
  31. ^"Bashundhara gets economic zone licences".The Daily Star.2016-07-28.Retrieved2016-08-11.
  32. ^"Home - Bashundhara Technical Institute".Bashundhara Technical Institute.Retrieved2016-08-11.
  33. ^"Why Bashundhara Group chief's son acquitted of Sabbir murder charge: HC".bdnews24.2016-04-11.Retrieved2016-08-11.
  34. ^"Big firms to go for rice milling".The Daily Star.2015-01-21.Retrieved2016-08-11.
  35. ^"Sundarban Industrial Complex Ltd".bashundharagroup.Retrieved2016-08-11.
  36. ^"SLAG base cement – new horizon for sustainable & durable construction".The Daily Star.Retrieved2016-08-11.
  37. ^"Bashundhara Toiletries unveils its logo".Daily Sun.September 2023.
  38. ^"Bashundhara now has over 20 major concerns".Archived fromthe originalon 2015-01-09.Retrieved2015-01-01.
  39. ^"Toggi Services Limited".Toggi Services Limited.Retrieved2022-08-20.
  40. ^"Bashundhara Group launches 'Bir Cement'".Daily Sun.November 2021.Retrieved2021-12-11.
  41. ^"Bashundhara mall to open to public tomorrow".The Daily Star.15 March 2009. Archived fromthe originalon 16 March 2009.
  42. ^"Shopping at Bashundhara City".Bangladesh.
  43. ^"Fire again at Bashundhara City mall".The Daily Star.2016-08-21.Retrieved2023-08-30.
  44. ^"Bangladesh Pratidin".Bangladesh Pratidin.Retrieved2022-04-19.
  45. ^"Daily Sun".Daily Sun.Retrieved2022-04-19.
  46. ^"Bangla News and Entertainment 24x7".banglanews24.Retrieved2022-04-19.

Sources

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