PPE, mask, drugs make 2020 a ‘successful’ year for Beximco

Syed Naved Hussain, one of the directors of Beximco Group, has described how it has done “well” when Bangladesh’s businesses are grappling with the coronavirus pandemic.

Brisk business in Personal Protective Equipment, mask and drugs has ensured a “successful” year for Beximco, he explained.

He was speaking at a ceremony in Dhaka where the Janata Bank handed it a trophy recognising it as the “largest exporter and best customer” of 2020 on Thursday.

Abdus Salam, managing director of the state-owned lender, handed the trophy to Naved, who is also the CEO of the group’s textile division.

Beximco made exports to the tune of Tk 47.13 billion in 2020, while its imports were valued at Tk 23.26 billion.

Beximco paid about Tk 4.27 billion to Janata Bank in 2020 in instalments for rescheduled or restructured loans, according to the statement. The bank, on the other hand, earned a total of Tk 4.84 billion from the company in 2020.

Beximco exports half of its products, according to Naved.

"Almost all the countries went into lockdown when the COVID-19 pandemic began last year. We were also gripped by the fears of huge losses as around 40,000 employees work in our firm,” he said.

“But we continued waiting for a good opportunity without giving up hopes and in the meantime, we received an export order for around 6.5 million PPE from the United State.

“Since then, Beximco has been receiving orders for PPE, mask, pharmaceuticals and other products necessary amid the pandemic from many countries all over the world. And we have had a successful year in business by delivering the orders,” Naved said. 

“The reputation and achievements of an organisation are determined through its activities. Even countries like the United States bought our products instead of Chinese ones. It has been a great achievement for us,” said the Beximco Group director.

The confidence of the developed nations in Bangladesh has increased because the country has made a lot of progress in power, energy, communication infrastructure and industrialisation, he added.

“As a result, the developed countries are not afraid to place orders in Bangladesh."

ASF Rahman is the chairman of Beximco Group, while his brother Salman F Rahman, the prime minister's adviser for private industry and investment, is the company's vice-chairman.

Founded in the 1970s, the group has now operations and investments across a wide range of industries, including textiles, pharmaceuticals, PPE, ceramics, real estate development, construction, trading, marine food, information and communication technology, media, DTH, financial services and energy.