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Company type | Public |
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Industry | pharmaceuticals, cosmetics & toiletries, infrastructure development, real estate, engineering, power, agribusiness, hospitality, textiles, aviation |
Headquarters | Dhaka, Bangladesh |
Revenue | ![]() |
Number of employees | 18000 |
Website | orion-group.net |
Orion Group[1] is one of the largest Bangladeshi industrial conglomerates.[2] The industries under this conglomerate include Orion Pharma Ltd, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, infrastructure development, agribusiness, hospitality, textiles, aviation etc.[3][4] Orion was established by Obaidul Karim, the chairman of the group, and Salman Obaidul Karim, his the managing director.[5][6] It built the Mayor Hanif flyover in Dhaka.[7] The tallest building in Bangladesh, City Centre Dhaka is built by this group. The company is also the sole franchisee of Krispy Kreme and Fish & Co. restaurants in Bangladesh.
History
[edit]Orion Group was established in 1985 as a pharmaceutical company.[8] Orion Pharmaceuticals is listed on the Dhaka Stock Exchange.[9]
Orion Group bought the state owned Kohinoor Chemical Company (BD) Ltd, a deal made possible by the close friendship of the group chairman with Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, in 1993.[5] He was also close to Bangladesh Nationalist Party politicians Tarique Rahman and Harris Chowdhury.[5]
In 1994, Orion Infusion Ltd, also known by its brand name Mala Chemical Industries, listed on the stock exchange.[5] The company inflated its share prices through false information leading Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission to file a case against it.[5]
Orion Group established East West Airlines in 2003.[5][10] The group also operated the Bangladesh China Friendship Conference Centre.[5] The group received the contract to build City Centre from Dhaka City Corporation through its subsidiary Belhasa Accom JV.[5]
Bangladesh Bank had found the chairman had embezzled money from the group's bank, Oriental Bank Limited.[5]
The anti-corruption taskforce asked for all accounts of 30 subsidiaries of Orion Group on 15 May 2007.[6] The Anti Corruption Commission filed a case against the chairman of Orion Group, Obaidul Karim, with Gulshan Police Station.[5] In June 2007, Karim was sentenced to 13 years for corruption.[5] In December 2007, the chairman of Orion Group, Obaidul Karim, was sentenced to life imprisonment for embezzlement.[5] On 12 August 2008, he was sentenced to five years imprisonment in a money laundering case.[5]
In December 2011, Orion Group signed an agreement with Bangladesh Power Development Board to establish three coal powerplants.[3][11] They would be built in Khulna, Chittagong, and Munshiganj.[3] The total cost of the three powerplant was US$1.4 billion.[3] The plants would be the first to be built by private companies in Bangladesh.[3] The government would buy electricity from them for 3.7 to 5.5 taka per KWh.[3] The group established Khulna Royal Bengals for the Bangladesh Premier League.[12]
In September 2014, Orion Group sought permission from the government to borrow US$88 million from a Singapore-based company for Dutch-Bangla Power and Associates and Orion Power Meghnaghat.[13] Orion Footwear started operations on 29 December led by chief executive officer Ruhul Amin Molla.[14][15]
The managing director of Orion Group, Salman Karim, said that their plan to establish a LPG plant was delayed by five months due to political instability in March 2015.[2]
In May 2016, Orion Group signed an agreement with Bangladesh Power Development Board to establish a coal powerplant in Munshiganj by its subsidiary Orion Power Unit-2 Dhaka Limited.[1] It will sell the power for 6.69 taka per KWh.[16] It held a public meeting to discuss the plant with stakeholders in Narayanganj near the site of Orion Power Meghnaghat Limited.[4] Orion Group bought Krispy Kreme to Bangladesh as the official franchise.[8] It also bought the Singapore-based Fish & Co. to Bangladesh.[8]
In October 2020, Orion Group sought about one billion USD loan from the forex reserve of Bangladesh.[17]
On 24 May 2021, Justices M Enayetur Rahim and Sardar Md Rashed Jahangir halted an order of Bangladesh Bank to list the chairman of Orion Group as a loan defaulter for loans taken under Amar Desh Publications Limited, partly owned by Orion Group.[18]
Subsidiaries
[edit]- Orion Pharma Limited[19]
- Pharma Park[19]
- Mayor Mohammad Hanif Flyover[20]
- Orion Power Meghnaghat Limited[21]
- Dutch Bangla Power and Associates Limited[22]
- Digital Power and Associates Limited[23]
- Orion Power Dhaka Limited[24]
- Orion Power Dhaka Unit-2 Limited[25]
- Orion Power Rupsha Limited[26]
- Orion power Sonargaon Limited[27]
- Orion Gas Limited[28]
- Orion Oil and Shipping Limited[29]
- City Centre[30]
- Interior Accom Consortium Limited[31]
- Jafflong Tea Company Limited[32]
- Panbo Bangla Mushroom Limited[33]
- Orion Agro Products Limited[34]
- Noakhali Gold Foods Limited[35]
- Kohinoor Chemical Company (BD) Ltd[36]
- Orion Knit Textiles Limited[37]
- Orion Footwear Limited[38]
- Orion Home Appliance Limited[39]
- Orion Games Limited[40]
- Orion Consumer Products Limited[41]
- Global Shoes Limited[39]
- Amardesh Publications Limited (publisher of Amar Desh)[6]
- Prudential Securities Limited[6]
- Khulna Royal Bengals[6]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b "Orion moves to implement coal power project". The Daily Star. 2016-10-14. Retrieved 2016-10-29.
- ^ a b "Doing business getting tough". The Daily Star. 2015-03-15. Retrieved 2016-10-29.
- ^ a b c d e f "4 major private power deals signed". The Daily Star. 2011-12-21. Retrieved 2016-10-29.
- ^ a b "Public meeting held for coal-based power plant in Munshiganj | Dhaka Tribune". Dhaka Tribune. 2016-10-15. Retrieved 2016-10-29.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "Scamster Obaidul Karim gets 5 years". The Daily Star. 2008-08-13. Archived from the original on 8 November 2016. Retrieved 2016-10-29.
- ^ a b c d e "Orion Group Companies". The Daily Star. Retrieved 2022-10-27.
- ^ "PM pays toll for her motorcade using Dhaleshwari bridge, Mayor Hanif flyover". bdnews24.com. Retrieved 2016-10-29.
- ^ a b c "Krispy Kreme opens doors tomorrow". The Daily Star. 2016-05-06. Retrieved 2022-10-27.
- ^ Habib, Ahsan (2022-09-21). "3 Orion firms see unusual price hike of stocks". The Daily Star. Retrieved 2022-10-27.
- ^ "(East West Airlines) history from Bangladesh, Rest of World". Airline History. Retrieved 2022-10-27.
- ^ Rahman, Mushfiqur (2013-10-09). "Little option but to go for coal-fired power". The Daily Star. Retrieved 2022-10-27.
- ^ The Shorter Wisden India Almanack 2013. A&C Black. 2013-02-28. ISBN 978-93-82951-01-8.
- ^ "Orion gets nod to borrow $88m in foreign loans". The Daily Star. 2014-09-22. Retrieved 2022-10-27.
- ^ "Orion hits country's footwear market". Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha. 2017-05-10. Archived from the original on 2017-05-10. Retrieved 2022-10-27.
- ^ "Shining future for Bangladesh leather sector as China shifts focus". bdnews24.com. Retrieved 2022-10-27.
- ^ "Orion to set up 635MW coal power plant". The Daily Star. 2016-04-22. Retrieved 2022-10-27.
- ^ Uddin, AKM Zamir (2020-10-28). "Target forex reserve". The Daily Star. Retrieved 2022-10-27.
- ^ "HC stays BB list including Orion group chairman as loan defaulter". The Daily Star. 2021-05-24. Retrieved 2022-10-27.
- ^ a b "Orion Pharma Ltd. : : Home". Orion Group. Retrieved 2022-10-27.
- ^ "Mayor Mohammad Hanif Flyover : : Home". Orion Group. Retrieved 2022-10-27.
- ^ "Orion Power Meghnaghat Ltd. : : Home". Orion Group. Retrieved 2022-10-27.
- ^ "Dutch Bangla Power & Associates Ltd. : : Home". Orion Group. Retrieved 2022-10-27.
- ^ "Digital Power & Associates Ltd. : : Home". Orion Group. Retrieved 2022-10-27.
- ^ "Orion Power Dhaka Ltd. : : Home". Orion Group. Retrieved 2022-10-27.
- ^ "Orion Power Dhaka Unit-2 Ltd. : : Home". Orion Group. Retrieved 2022-10-27.
- ^ "Orion Power Rupsha Ltd. : : Home". Orion Group. Retrieved 2022-10-27.
- ^ "Orion Power Sonargaon Ltd. : : Orion power Sonargaon Ltd". Orion Group. Retrieved 2022-10-27.
- ^ "Orion Gas Ltd. : : Home". Orion Group. Retrieved 2022-10-27.
- ^ "Orion Oil and Shipping Ltd. : : HOME". Orion Group. Retrieved 2022-10-27.
- ^ "City Centre : : Home". www.orion-group.net. Retrieved 2022-10-27.
- ^ "Interior Accom Consortium Ltd. : : Home". Orion Group. Retrieved 2022-10-27.
- ^ "Jafflong Tea Company Ltd. : : Home". Orion Group. Retrieved 2022-10-27.
- ^ "Panbo Bangla Mushroom Ltd. : : Home". Orion Group. Retrieved 2022-10-27.
- ^ "Orion Agro Products Ltd. : : Home". Orion Group. Retrieved 2022-10-27.
- ^ "Noakhali Gold Foods Ltd. : : Home". Orion Group. Retrieved 2022-10-27.
- ^ "Kohinoor Chemical Company (BD) Ltd. : : Home". Orion Group. Retrieved 2022-10-27.
- ^ "Orion Knit Textiles Ltd. : : Home". Orion Group. Retrieved 2022-10-27.
- ^ "Orion Footwear Ltd. : : Home". Orion Group. Retrieved 2022-10-27.
- ^ a b "Orion Home Appliance Ltd. : : Home". Orion Group. Retrieved 2022-10-27.
- ^ "Orion Games Ltd". Orion Group. Retrieved 2022-10-27.
- ^ "Orion Consumer Products Ltd". Orion Group. Retrieved 2022-10-27.