Business in Dhaka is controlled by some big business groups. These business groups in Dhaka have almost every category of products. Textile, fashion, ready made garments or RMG, medicine, food and beverage, beauty, steels, fishing, shipping, construction, mass media etc.
People are living with hundreds of brands created by the big businesses. They have a big number of employees. Some businesses look for chances to give low wages or remuneration. They try to violate workers rights and labor laws.
Giant Business Groups in Dhaka
There are lots of big businesses in Dhaka but we will list only 15 businesses with annually l billion USD plus profit. The information are revealed by the IFC and other financial websites.
1. Meghna Group of Industries
Founder of the group is Mr Mustafa Kamal. This group have more than 40 businesses. Oil, food and beverage, papers, mass media, grocery, cement, water etc. It established the first non government economic zone in the county. This group has more than 35,000 employees.
2. Basundhara Group
Founder of the group is Ahmed Abdus Sobhan. This business group has businesses in paper, food and beverage, LP gas, grocery, steel, cement, shopping mall, real estate, mass media etc. More than 50,000 people work for this group. A rape and murder case against one of the leading person of this group was the talk of the city.
3. AK Khan and Company
Founder of the group is Abul Kashem Khan. This business group has businesses in power and energy, tyre, fishing, textile etc.
4. Jamuna Group
Founder of the group is Nurul Islam Babul. This business group has businesses in paper, food and beverage, , grocery, real estate, oil, electronics, shopping mall, mass media etc. It has more than 25 companies in this group.
5. Orion Group
This business group has businesses in the construction, pharmaceutical, electrical, power and mega project construction and maintenance.
6. Walton Group
Walton is a popular local brand of electronics products. Walton assembles device and export to other countries after distributing across the Dhaka and other cities in Bangladesh.
7. Square Group
This business group's founder is Mr Samson H Chowdhury. This group has pharmaceutical, textile, food and beverage, beauty products etc.
8. T. K Group
Abul Kalam is the founder of this business group. Edible oil is a key business product of this group.
9. Akiz Group
Akiz Uddin is the founder of the business group. Tobacco was the key product of the business group. Now its businesses include ceramic, food and beverage, real estate, cement, etc.
10. BEXIMCO
One of the two founders of the business group is Mr. Salman F. Rahman. Who is also an advisor to the Prime Minister of the Bangladesh. He has a negative image in the stock market and his pharmaceutical marketing strategy is criticized. It has real estate, fashion, ready made garments or RMG etc. businesses.
11. City Group
Mr. Fazlur Rahman is the founder of the business group. Its key and first business was the oil. Now it has more than 40 sister concerns.
12. United Group
A group of friends established this business group. It has power and energy businesses. In Education, it has a pleasant contribution but it is not out of the criticism over making money from education.
13. PHP Family
Its founder is Sufi Mizanur Rahman. Its key business was the Tire import from other countries. Now it is one of the successful domestic car manufacturers. It has steel business and other businesses as well.
14. Partex Group
This business was founded by Mr M. A Hashem. Power and energy, food and beverage furniture, banking and finance are the businesses in the the Partex Group.
15. Pran-RFL Group
Mr Amzad Khan Chowdhury founded the PRAN Group. This group is pioneer in agriculture-based products. It employed more than 1 lac people.
You may heard the name of the Transom, that is a trading business conglomerate in Dhaka. If we increase the list, it will be added to that.
Read: Source T-Shirts in Dhaka.
Business groups in Dhaka are running on their own way. Government has less control over their businesses and employment system. Some of the companies in the business groups try to evade taxes and turn non profit sister concerns into money making machines.