Salman F Rahman

Among the most famous business personalities in Bangladesh, Salman F Rahman stands tall in the top position with his immense contribution to the business sector in particular and economy in general. He has been instrumental in expanding the business horizon.

Salman F Rahman is the co-owner of the most prominent and largest company of the country – Beximco Group. With unique foresight and vision, he transformed the company into the largest private sector group in Bangladesh. Around 48,000 people directly work at separate business ventures of Beximco Group. The workers are paid much higher than the minimum wage set by the government. The company mainly focuses on textiles, ceramics, financial services, energy, IT, pharmaceuticals and electronic media. Beximco Group not only serves the domestic market; it had expanded its sphere in the global market. Beximco in fact is a brand as much as Salman F Rahman is.

Jute mill was the first venture this businessman took interest on. It was in the late 1960s. After independence, newly formed government of Bangladesh nationalized all factories including the one Salman F Rahman was owner of. After the jute mill was nationalized, Salman F Rahman along with his elder brother established Bangladesh Export Import Company, which is currently Beximco Group, and started exporting seafood and crushed bones to Netherlands, Belgium, the U.K., France and Germany. With the foreign currency earned by selling seafood and crushed bones, they imported medicines. It was a profitable business and they never had to look back.

Salman F Rahman rightfully identified that investing in medicines and ceramics will bring him profit and help the country in general because there was huge shortage of these products in the local market. At the moment Beximco Group is the market leader in both medicines and ceramics industry. And in course of time, this dynamic businessman explored IT industry, textiles, real estate, media and aviation. In most of the ventures, he succeeded.

The dynamic businessman has become famous because of this extra-ordinary vision and for being two steps ahead from other businessmen in the country. Salman F Rahman set up country’s first private bank along with Dubai-based Galadari Brothers Group in 1982. The bank was named Arab Bangladesh Bank. However he sold stakes of this bank in late 1980s and bought 30% at International Finance Investment and Commerce Bank, otherwise known as IFIC. At the moment he is the chairman of the bank.

Corporate culture and human resource management was not known to Bangladesh till 1990s. Salman F Rahman, with his step by step approach, gradually incorporated proper corporate culture and efficient management of human resource. In the process both entrepreneurs and white color personnel became more professional.

This famous business personality is however not free of controversies. In number of times he was accused of manipulating price of shares at the stock exchange. But none of the accusation was proven.