History
The company was founded by brothers A. S. F. Rahman and Salman F Rahman in 1972, right after the independence of Bangladesh. Their family was earlier engaged in the jute business. The jute factory was nationalized in the early 1970s. However, with free-market reforms in the late 1970s and 1980s, the family regained many of their businesses.
Since the early 1970s, BEXIMCO has been a pioneer in industrial and business sectors. Currently, it has operations and investments across a wide range of industries, including pharmaceuticals, ceramics, renewable energy, textiles, LPG, food & beverage, satellite-to-home television, PPE, media, ICT, real estate, financial services, and travel & tourism.[8]
In 2005, Beximco Pharma became the first Bangladeshi company to be listed on the Alternative Investment Market of the London Stock Exchange.[9] BEXIMCO also opened its first overseas retail outlet with the launch of the Yellow clothing brand in Karachi, Pakistan.[10] Yellow has since expanded to several Bangladeshi and Pakistani cities. In 2009, Shinepukur Ceramics opened a showroom in Moscow, Russia.[11] In 2010, the company acquired stakes in several major Bangladeshi businesses, including IFIC Bank and Unique Hotels and Resorts.[12][13][14]
In October 2021, BEXIMCO, along with two other companies, Robi and Meghna Petroleum, donated 6.93cr to Labour Welfare Fund support to workers in the formal and informal sectors for accidental deaths, treatment of injuries, incurable diseases, and also for the higher education of their children.[15]
In 2023, BEXIMCO Group inaugurated Teesta Solar Limited.[16] However, the plant started supplying power to the national grid in December 2022. The plant has 520,000 solar panels at 600 acres of land at Tarapur Union. The plant has the capacity to produce 200MW of electricity.[17] The plant is located on the bank of the Teesta River.[16]
Its vice chairman, Salman F Rahman, was serving as a Private Sector Development Affairs Adviser to Prime Minister and Bangladesh Awami League President Sheikh Hasina, the former Prime Minister of Bangladesh, in the past and as Private Sector Industry and Investment Adviser at the moment.[5] He's now currently arrested as they were attempting to flee by waterway from the Sadarghat area of the capital on Tuesday, 13 August 2024. They are currently charged as instigators of the murder of students during the student rising movement in Dhaka.[18]
In the wake of political turmoil following the fall of the Awami League government in August 2024, Salman F Rahman, the founder of Beximco Pharmaceuticals and former private industry and investment adviser to former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, was imprisoned. The period of instability, marked by a student-led mass uprising in July and August 2024 led to significant financial difficulties for Beximco Group. On 5 September 2024, the High Court of Bangladesh directed the appointment of a receiver to oversee all institutions of Beximco Group. This decision was made to manage the company's financial issues and ensure the stability of its operations. This decision was upheld by the chamber judge of the Appellate Division on 1 October 2024, with a full hearing scheduled for 28 October 2024. During the hearing, the decision was deferred, and the case was adjourned until 11 November 2024. As the Supreme Court prepared to issue its decision on the receiver's appointment, Beximco Pharmaceuticals requested a temporary suspension of trading in its shares due to the prevailing uncertainty.[19][20]
