Salman F Rahman

Salman Fazlur Rahman (born 23 May 1951)[2] is a Bangladeshi businessman[3] who is also a member of the Jatiya Sangsad. At present, he is holding the rank of a cabinet minister and serving as the Private Sector Industry and Investment Adviser to Honorable Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. [4] He was ranked 1685th on the list of billionaires in the world published by Beijing-based Hurun Gobal in 2017.[5] He is the current vice chairman of Beximco Group, one of the largest conglomerates in Bangladesh.[6] Since 2009, he has been serving as the private sector development affairs adviser to the Bangladesh Awami League President Sheikh Hasina.[7] Currently he is acting as the president of several trade bodies including Association of Television Channel Owners (ATCO).[8] In January 2019, he was appointed as Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's adviser on private industry and investment.[9]

Salman Fazlur Rahman
সালমান এফ রহমান
Member of Parliament
for Dhaka-1
Assumed office
3 January 2019
Preceded bySalma Islam
Personal details
Born (1951-05-23) 23 May 1951
Dhaka, East Bengal, Dominion of Pakistan
NationalityBangladeshi
Alma materUniversity of Karachi
OccupationVice Chairman of Beximco Group
Net worthUS$1.3 billion[note 1][1]
Websitesalmanfrahman.com

Early life

Rahman was born in Dohar Upazila of Dhaka District to Fazlur Rahman and Syeda Fatina Rahman. He is married to Syeda Rubaba Rahman and has a son named Ahmed Shayan Fazlur Rahman. He graduated from the University of Karachi.[10]

Career

In 1966, Rahman and his elder brother, Sohail Rahman started a business by running their family owned jute mill. The government nationalized the mill in 1971. They established the Bangladesh Export and Import Company Limited (Beximco Group) in 1972 and started exporting seafood and crushed bones to the European countries and import medicines in exchange of the exports of seafood and crushed bones.[11] Beximco Group is one of the leading conglomerates in Bangladesh with subsidiaries including BexTex, Beximco Pharmaceuticals, and Shinepukur Ceramics.

In 1976, Rahman brothers established Beximco Pharmaceuticals. Later on, this company was listed as the first Bangladeshi company at the London's Alternative Investment Market.[12][6] The company is listed in Aim of London Stock Exchange[13] and also accredited by many foreign regulatory authorities including the US FDA for its export operations.[14] In addition, it is the first Bangladeshi company to export medicines to Canada.[15]

In 1982, the brothers partnered with the Dubai-based Galadari Brothers Group to establish the AB Bank.[10] In 1985, he sold his stake to the other partners. Subsequently, the brothers bought 30% stake in IFIC Bank. Rahman became chairman of the bank in 2010[16] and was re-elected in 2016.[17]

Rahman owns the English Daily The Independent and the Bangla News Channel Independent Television. He is also the Chairman of the Board of Editors of the Daily Independent.[7]

Politics

Rahman entered politics in the mid-1990s. He founded the political party Samriddhya Bangladesh Andolan. Later he joined the Bangladesh Awami League. He was the Bangladesh Awami League nominee from a constituency in Dhaka-1: Dohar Upazila in Bangladeshi general election in 2001.[7]

Currently, he is the Private Sector Development Adviser to President of Bangladesh Awami League and Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina.[18][19]

Rahman contested from Dhaka-1 constituency (Dohar and Nawabganj) in the 2018 parliamentary election and received 3,04,797 votes from 178 centres of the constituency while the nearest rival Salma Islam received 38,017 votes.[20] He contested the election with the Awami League's symbol boat while Salma Islam contested with the symbol motor vehicle. He has secured 86.5% of the votes of the constituency, consisting of the Dohar and Nawabganj upazilas.[21]

Rahman was appointed as the private industry and investment advisor to the Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on 15 January 2019.[22] The post holds status of a minister without any financial benefits.[9]

Association

Rahman headed the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce & Industries (FBCCI) from 1994 to 1996.[7] He is a director of the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission and Dhaka Stock Exchange.[23] Currently Rahman is acting as the president of Association of Television Channel Owners (ATCO)[24] and LPG Operators Association of Bangladesh (LOAB).[25] He is the chairman of the Board of Governor of Bangladesh Enterprise Institute and the sporting club Abahani Limited Dhaka.[26][27][28][29]

Controversies

A cable from United States ambassador in Dhaka leaked by WikiLeaks in 2007, alleged that Rahman is one of the biggest bank loan defaulters in Bangladesh.[30] Rahman was arrested on 4 February 2007 on charges of crime and corruption in 11 cases during the 2006-08 Bangladeshi political crisis. On 20 August 2008, the High Court of Bangladesh granted him bail in the case of bank forgery.[31]

Rahman was also indicted in the case of stock market fraud in 1996 but in March 2015, the High Court in Dhaka quashed the two cases and ruled that the cases had no merits.[32][33] Charge sheet was over-ridden in January 2018 during the second tenure of Bangladesh Awami League as the ruling party.[34][35]

Notes
  1. As of 2018
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References
  1. "Top Ten Richest Men in Bangladesh". Asian World News. Retrieved 6 October 2019.
  2. "All to know about Salman F Rahman". Corporate Bangladesh.
  3. "Bangladesh's first family of business". Fortune India.
  4. "Salman F Rahman wins Dhaka-1 seat". The Independent. Dhaka. Retrieved 2019-02-13.
  5. "Salman F Rahman on world billionaires' list". Dhaka Tribune. Retrieved 2018-01-08.
  6. "Beximco: About". Retrieved 8 August 2017.
  7. "Salman F Rahman remains Sheikh Hasina's adviser". bdnews24.com. 6 November 2016. Retrieved 8 August 2017.
  8. "Salman F Rahman". The Independent. Dhaka. Retrieved 22 May 2017.
  9. "Salman made PM's adviser". The Daily Star. 2019-01-16. Retrieved 2019-01-16.
  10. Lall, Pavan. "Bangladesh's First Family of Business" (PDF). Fortune India. Retrieved 8 August 2017.
  11. Business, EENI- School of International. "Salman Rahman Muslim Businessman Bangladesh". en.reingex.com. Retrieved 2018-01-03.
  12. "Raw material import limit forces Beximco Pharma to cut output". The Daily Star. 2007-12-02. Retrieved 2018-01-09.
  13. "Beximco Pharma commences export to the US - RNS - London Stock Exchange". www.londonstockexchange.com. Retrieved 2018-01-08.
  14. "Another Beximco drug to reach US market". The Daily Star. 2017-07-25. Retrieved 2018-01-09.
  15. "Beximco Pharma enters Canada". The Daily Star. 2017-09-18. Retrieved 2019-07-03.
  16. "Salman new chairman of IFIC Bank". bdnews24.com. 27 July 2010.
  17. "Salman F Rahman reelected as IFIC Bank chairman". The Daily Star. 2016-07-21. Retrieved 2019-07-03.
  18. "Salman F Rahman remains Sheikh Hasina's adviser". bdnews24.com.
  19. "Salman F Rahman made PM's new adviser". The Independent. Dhaka.
  20. "Salman F Rahman wins Dhaka-1 seat". The Independent. Dhaka. Retrieved 2019-01-03.
  21. "Awami League's new faces in Dhaka". Dhaka Tribune. 2019-01-01. Retrieved 2019-01-03.
  22. "Salman F Rahman appointed as PM's adviser". Dhaka Tribune. 2019-01-15. Retrieved 2019-01-16.
  23. "Salman joins DSE board as director". The Daily Star. 2011-09-09. Retrieved 2019-07-03.
  24. "Salman F Rahman elected new ATCO president". Daily Sun. Retrieved 2018-01-09.
  25. "Nasrul: LPG energy of the future". Dhaka Tribune.
  26. "Salman new chairman of IFIC Bank". bdnews24.com. Retrieved 2018-01-17.
  27. http://bei-bd.org/board-of-governors/
  28. "Mr. Salman F Rahman, Chairman". Bangladesh Enterprise Institute. Retrieved 8 August 2017.
  29. "Abahani Limited chairman Salman F Rahman speaks during the 65th birth anniversary of Sheikh Kamal at the club's ground in Dhanmondi yesterday – NASHIRUL ISLAM".
  30. Allchin, Joseph (2016-04-11). "Bangladesh's Other Banking Scam". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2018-01-08.
  31. "Salman Rahman freed on bail". The Daily Star. 2008-08-28. Retrieved 2018-01-08.
  32. "Beximco bosses acquitted of 1996 stock market manipulation charges". bdnews24.com. Retrieved 2020-01-26.
  33. শেয়ারবাজারের ঘটনার সাথে জড়িত নন সালমান এফ রহমান, তার বিরুদ্ধে মামলা বাতিল করেছে আদালত. Bangladesh Updates (in Bengali). 2020-01-18. Retrieved 2020-01-26.
  34. Staff Correspondent. "1996 share scam: Warrants issued for two ex-directors of Premium Securities". bdnews24.com. Retrieved 2018-02-18.
  35. বেক্সিমকোর বিরুদ্ধে দুই মামলা বাতিল করেন হাইকোর্ট. Kaler Kantho. 2017-01-13. Retrieved 2018-01-17.
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