Metro Group
Formation1971
TypeConglomerate
HeadquartersDhaka, Bangladesh
Region served
Bangladesh
Official language
Bengali
Websitemetrogroup-bd.com

Metro Group (Bengali: মেট্রো গ্রুপ) is a Bangladeshi diversified conglomerate based in Dhaka. It is the parent company of Best Holding Limited which owns Le Meridien Dhaka.[1][2]

History

Al- Amin Construction Company Limited in 1970.[3]

In the 1980s, Central Pharmaceuticals Limited was established after the liberalization of the pharmaceutical market in Bangladesh by GETCO Group (Greenland Engineers & Tractors Company) and BanglaCAT (Bangla Trac Group).[4][5] In 1993, Central Pharmaceuticals Limited was purchased by Metro Group.[5]

Amin Ahmad is the managing director and founder of Best Holding Limited and Hasan Ahmad is the chairman of Best Holding Limited.[6][7]

In 2006, Mayor of Dhaka City Corporation, Sadeque Hossain Khoka, signed an agreement with Amin Associates Overseas Company Limited, a subsidiary of Metro Group, to build a 20 floor tower on the site of DCC market.[8] Since then, the group has been involved in the legal battle over the ownership with the shop owners of the market who were left out of the negotiations.[8] By 2017, Metro Group stood on the verge of losing their agreement following a fire at the market on 3 January.[9] The shop owners blamed the fire on Metro Group.[10][11]

Best Holding Limited started construction of Le Méridien Dhaka in 2006 and started operations in 2015.[12] It had borrowed 12 billion taka to construct the hotel.[12]

Metro Group founded Sky Telecommunication along with Karnaphuli Group and Partex Star Group (Partex Group).[13] Sky Telecommunication manufactures Zelta branded cellphones, launched in 2015.[13]

In May 2018, news spread that Metro Group would sell Central Pharmaceuticals to Alif Group which raises the price of its shares on the stock market by 88 percent.[5][14] The initial news of the sale came out in February 2017.[15] Directors of Central Pharmaceuticals Parvez Ahmed Bhuiyan and Md Rukunuzzaman sold their shares in the company to the general public taking advantage of the increased prices and without informing the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission.[5]

On 30 October 2018, Best Holding Limited hired Shakib Al Hasan as their brand ambassador.[16] On 15 January 2019, issued bond to pay off the loan from the construction of Le Méridien Dhaka.[12]

On 17 December 2020, Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission stopped the listing of Best Holding Limited on the Dhaka Stock Exchange as it did not allow direct listing of private companies.[17][18] 52 percent of the shares of the company are owned by its founders while four state owned banks (Agrani Bank, Janata Bank, Rupali Bank Limited, and Sonali Bank) own almost 30 percent of the remaining shares.[17] The Ministry of Finance ordered a change in policy to allow private infrastructure companies to directly list on the stock market after failed bids by Best Holdings Limited and Akash DTH.[19] On 18 December 2020, the Ministry of Finance suspended its directives to the exchange commission following media reports.[19] Best Holding named Investment Corporation of Bangladesh as its issue manager but Investment Corporation of Bangladesh denied any involvement.[20] The other issue manager was RACE Portfolio and Issue Management which is owned by Chowdhury Nafeez Sarafat.[20]

On 20 December 2020, Morsheda Ahmed, director of Central Pharmaceuticals Limited announced plans to buy back 4.11 percent of the company's shares from the stock market.[14] In August 2021, the price of Central Pharmaceuticals shares rose 32 percent unexpectedly in the Dhaka Stock Exchange despite the company operating at a loss.[21]

On 21 August 2021, the Ministry of Finance recommended that the four state owned banks (Agrani Bank, Janata Bank, Rupali Bank Limited, and Sonali Bank) not seek their guaranteed dividends from Best Holdings Limited.[22]

Businesses

  • Al- Amin Construction Company Limited[3]
  • Central Pharmaceuticals Limited[4]
  • Metro Services Limited[23]
  • Metro Unitrade Limited[24]
  • Amin Associates Overseas Company Limited[25]
  • Best Holdings Limited[26] (Le Méridien Dhaka, The Muslin, a Luxury Collection Resort, Bhaluka, and Marriott Bhaluka)[27]
  • G2G Assignment Limited[28]
  • Empori[29]

Best Holding Limited (a subsidiary of Metro Group)

References

  1. ↑ Akter, Sayeda (2012-06-18). "Le Méridien opens doors next year". The Daily Star. Retrieved 2022-05-15.
  2. ↑ Chakma, Jagaran (2020-01-12). "Le Méridien leveraging Bangladesh's growth momentum". The Daily Star. Retrieved 2022-05-15.
  3. 1 2 "Metro Group". www.metrogroup-bd.com. Retrieved 2022-05-15.
  4. 1 2 "Metro Group". www.metrogroup-bd.com. Retrieved 2022-05-15.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Habib, Ahsan (2018-05-20). "Central Pharma directors game the system". The Daily Star. Retrieved 2022-05-15.
  6. ↑ "Our Key Management". Best Holdings Ltd. Retrieved 2022-05-15.
  7. ↑ "Le Méridien Dhaka hosts iftar for children". The Daily Star. 2017-06-13. Retrieved 2022-05-15.
  8. 1 2 "Future of the DCC market". The Daily Star. 2017-01-30. Retrieved 2022-05-15.
  9. ↑ "Metro Group may lose Gulshan market contract". Dhaka Tribune. 2017-02-04. Retrieved 2022-05-15.
  10. ↑ "Shop owners call it a conspiracy to evict them". Prothom Alo. Retrieved 2022-05-15.
  11. ↑ Dhruba, Golam Mujtaba; Hossain, Kazi Mobarak. "Arson behind fire at Gulshan DNCC Market, say traders". bdnews24.com. Retrieved 2022-05-15.
  12. 1 2 3 Alo, Jebun Nesa (2019-01-15). "Le Méridien issues Tk 1,200cr bond to pay off loans". The Daily Star. Retrieved 2022-05-15.
  13. 1 2 "Zelta mobiles hit market". The Daily Star. 2015-09-21. Retrieved 2022-05-15.
  14. 1 2 "Central Pharma provides vague information to shareholders: Auditor". The Business Standard. 2020-12-20. Retrieved 2022-05-15.
  15. ↑ "Central Pharma directors to sell their entire shares". The Daily Star. 2017-02-23. Retrieved 2022-05-15.
  16. ↑ "Shakib and Le Méridien Dhaka". The Daily Star. 2018-10-30. Retrieved 2022-05-15.
  17. 1 2 "DSE ordered to halt direct listing of Best Holdings". The Daily Star. 2020-12-17. Retrieved 2022-05-15.
  18. ↑ "Le Méridien Dhaka's owner thought it managed shortcut to bourses. Then BSEC stopped it at last minute". Dhaka Tribune. 2020-12-16. Retrieved 2022-05-15.
  19. 1 2 "Finance ministry suspends order on changing direct listing rules". The Daily Star. 2020-12-18. Retrieved 2022-05-15.
  20. 1 2 Bashar, Reazul; Fardaus, Farhan. "Best Holdings episode gets murkier as ICB says it's not part of the game". bdnews24.com. Retrieved 2022-05-15.
  21. ↑ "Central Pharma shares soar 32% in five days". The Business Standard. 2021-08-04. Retrieved 2022-05-15.
  22. ↑ "Ministry suggests 4 SoBs exempt Best Holdings from guaranteed dividend". New Age. Retrieved 2022-05-15.
  23. ↑ "Metro Group". www.metrogroup-bd.com. Retrieved 2022-05-15.
  24. ↑ "Metro Group". www.metrogroup-bd.com. Retrieved 2022-05-15.
  25. ↑ "Metro Group". www.metrogroup-bd.com. Retrieved 2022-05-15.
  26. ↑ "Metro Group". www.metrogroup-bd.com. Retrieved 2022-05-15.
  27. 1 2 3 "Hospitality". Best Holdings Ltd. Retrieved 2022-05-15.
  28. ↑ "Metro Group". www.metrogroup-bd.com. Retrieved 2022-05-15.
  29. ↑ "Metro Group". www.metrogroup-bd.com. Retrieved 2022-05-15.
  30. ↑ "ICT ICONS HONOURED". The Daily Star. 2016-10-29. Retrieved 2022-05-15.
  31. ↑ "Le ROYAL". Best Holdings Ltd. Retrieved 2022-05-15.
  32. ↑ "Constantinos S Gavriel reflects on hospitality industry - Life & Style". The Daily Observer. Retrieved 2022-05-15.
  33. ↑ "Marriott International signs 22 new agreements in South Asia | Business Review Live | Business News, Reviews | Entrepreneur Stories, Interviews | Kerala | India". 2021-09-29. Retrieved 2022-05-15.
  34. ↑ "Marriot to open 7 luxury hotels in Bangladesh in next 5 years". New Age. Retrieved 2022-05-15.
  35. ↑ "UK team meets DU VC". www.bangladeshpost.net. Retrieved 2022-05-15.
  36. ↑ "Top International Boys Boarding School in Bangladesh". haileybury.com.bd. Retrieved 2022-05-15.
  37. ↑ "Education and Healthcare". Best Holdings Ltd. Retrieved 2022-05-15.
  38. ↑ "UK team meets DU VC". Daily Sun. Retrieved 2022-05-15.
  39. ↑ "Economic Zone". Best Holdings Ltd. Retrieved 2022-05-15.
  40. ↑ "Agro Business". Best Holdings Ltd. Retrieved 2022-05-15.
  41. ↑ "Interior Design & Solutions". Best Holdings Ltd. Retrieved 2022-05-15.
  42. ↑ "Media and Event Management". Best Holdings Ltd. Retrieved 2022-05-15.
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