Home ›› 15 Jan 2023 ›› Business Connect
Every successful entrepreneur has overcome numerous difficult challenges before finding much-anticipated success. Faisal Ahmed Chowdhury is no exception to this.
In the beginning, there was no lack of nobility and wealth in his family. But after Faisal’s father retired, the family fell into a financial crisis after bearing the cost of his ailing mother’s medical treatment for a long time.
Later, the death of their mother had broken Faisal and his younger brothers down mentally. As the eldest son born in 1970, Faisal had no choice but to take his family’s responsibility on his shoulders right after completing his honours.
Faisal was not interested in a 9-to-5 job since his student days, but he also did not have enough capital to become an industrial entrepreneur. However, he still never wavered from his mission to do something big for himself, his family and the country.
In the 1997s, the 27-year-old young man planned to move to the United Kingdom. He got the visa but did not have money for the plane ticket. But he did not quit and somehow managed to convince the travel agency to give him the ticket on credit.
With that, he travelled to the UK and started his expatriate life. He soon found a part-time job but he was struggling with the little money he earned. He did not even have enough money to buy a bed.
Faisal had a dream of becoming an entrepreneur and worked hard to reach that goal. In the UK, along with his part-time job at a restaurant, he worked a full-time job as a store executive of a flight service at the same time. But he was not satisfied.
On August 26, 1996, Faisal got married to Rushina Ahmed Chowdhury, who was a British citizen of Bangladesh origin. Since then, her unconditional support has played a major role in his rise as a leading entrepreneur and businessman.
In 2002, Faisal became an entrepreneur by founding his own business in the UK — Apex Printing and Publications Ltd — with his brothers and three partners. Later, he also established Imprint Trading Ltd. They became successful pretty quickly due to their commitment to the business and their clients.
A couple of years later, he planned to launch a new business at home and joined hands with his brother-in-law Gulam Rabbani Chowdhury and several expatriate and local investors. In 2005, they established the biggest real estate business in Sylhet through the Royal City project on 300 acres of land, which received a massive response from people.
In 2006, Faisal returned to Bangladesh with his wife with the dream to do something bigger. The next year, Faisal, his brothers and Rabbani thought about entering the power sector business. Despite having no experience working in this industry, he kept learning and entered partnership agreements with foreign investors.
That was only the beginning of his struggle. He faced numerous challenges and financial hardships but he never thought about giving up. He tackled all the problems head-on and overcame them one by one. Since then, he never had to look back.
And his resilience has led to today’s Baraka Group. This industrial group has multiple companies in power, apparel and several other sectors, and currently employs around 2,000 people.
Set for success
Through Faisal and Rabbani, the country saw its first power plant made with investments from expatriates take shape in 2007. Afterwards, Baraka Group’s electricity business was set for success.
The group, which has become one of the pioneers in the power sector’s development, currently supplies 316 megawatts (MW) of electricity to the national grid through its four power plants in Sylhet and Chattogram.
The four plants operate under Baraka Power Limited and Baraka Patenga Power Limited. Both companies are listed in the capital markets. The other two plants are Karnaphuli Power Limited and Baraka Shikalbaha Power Limited.
Faisal serves as the group’s chairman and Rabbani is the managing director. The industrial group also has business in the apparel industry, a brokerage house on the Dhaka Stock Exchange, and investments in the health and education sectors.
Talking to The Business Post, the visionary businessman with over 32 years of leadership experience, said, “I don’t want to grow alone. I want to achieve growth along with everyone. I want to do something significant and worthwhile for the country and its people.
“To that end, we are moving forward with people’s trust as our main capital, not just money, and general investors from both here and abroad are our partners in that journey,” said Faisal, who has established an international standard organisation called Royal Educare Limited (REL).
Apart from being involved in community and social activities and organisations, Faisal served as an executive committee member of the Foreign Investors Chamber of Commerce and Industry in 2019-21. He is also an executive member of the Bangladesh Red Crescent Society’s Sylhet Unit and president of Sylhet Gymkhana Cricket Club.
Lighting up Bangladesh
“We dream of a Bangladesh where every corner of the nation has electricity. We dream about an individual, society and the nation. The power of our collective dreams gives us the strength and power to achieve our goals and keep our promise,” Faisal said about his company’s goal.
His Baraka Power Limited has been awarded AA2 Credit Rating, which is the highest rating achieved by a power plant in the country for having very strong capacity, sound credit profile, comfortable cash flow, stable profitability and satisfactory solvency.
This company is a collaboration of a group of local and non-resident Bangladeshi (NRB) entrepreneurs. This is the only private sector power-generating company developed by a group of NRB investors. It was incorporated in Bangladesh in 2007. Later, it was converted into a public limited company.
“Baraka Power came into being when Bangladesh was going through a severe electricity crisis,” Faisal said.
“The nation desperately needed power-generating facilities to meet the demand. That’s why the group of NRBs joined forces with the group of local entrepreneurs to develop the Baraka Power plant to realise their desire to start a business here that would represent their aspirations to help the country,” he said.
The company had appointed Infrastructure Development Company Limited as the lead to arrange a syndicated loan for the project. Accordingly, a syndication loan facility for Tk 125 crore was arranged from six financial institutes.
In the beginning, the company was named Barakatullah Electro Dynamics Limited. It was changed to Baraka Power Limited on January 12, 2015.
Baraka Power had participated in a bidding of the Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) and won the contract to build, own and operate (BOO) a 51MW power plant at Fenchuganj, Sylhet for 15 years. On April 28, 2008, Baraka and BPDB inked a contract to deliver power. The plant was successfully put into service on October 10, 2009, and began operating commercially 14 days later.
The company became listed with both Dhaka and Chattogram Stock Exchanges on May 16, 2011. According to the financial report of FY2021–22, Baraka Power was able to generate revenue totalling Tk 112 crore, which is Tk 1.85 crore higher than the previous year.
First plant with WB
Afterwards, Faisal, Rabbani and the group of entrepreneurs went on to establish Baraka Patenga Power Limited (BPPL), Karnaphuli Power Limited (KPL) and Baraka Shikalbaha Power Limited (BSPL) in Chattogram.
BPPL was the first power plant to be funded by the World Bank’s foreign currency loan given under the IPFF facility.
The 50MW IPPHFO-based power plant at Patenga was given to Baraka in 2011 under an open tendering process. Later, Baraka established the power generating facility at Chattogram’s South Patenga under a clause to design, finance, insure, construct, own, commission, operate and maintain it for 15 years.
Since May 4, 2014, when BPPL started operating commercially, the company has been continually and uninterruptedly supplying power to the national grid. BPPL completed its Initial Public Offering (IPO) procedure using the Book Building Method in 2020–21.
On August 20, 2019, KPL began commercial operation of its 110 MWHFO-fired IPP power plant. BSPL’s 105MW HFO-fired IPP power plant began operation on May 24, 2019.
Business diversification
Faisal Ahmed Chowdhury bought a readymade garment factory with a 10-line (woven tops) production capability at Singbari in Tongi, Gazipur in 2016–17, to diversify its dependency from a single commodity (electricity) and lower future business risk.
This company was first named Bela Fashions Limited and later renamed Baraka Fashions Limited (BFL). Although the garments unit has yet to contribute positively to the group due to the severe negative effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, the factory’s performance is steadily improving under the skilled management and ongoing guidance of Baraka Power.
As a result, it is anticipated to offer substantially positive returns to enhance the company’s overall profitability over the coming years.
To further diversify its operations and seek new investment opportunities, Baraka Group has invested in the preference shares of REL, under which schools Eurokids (pre-schooling) and Royal Institute of Smart Education (Grades 1 to 12) operate. Their curriculum is based on Cambridge International Examinations.
In addition, BPPL established another subsidiary firm called Baraka Securities Limited to venture into an ongoing and more dynamic endeavour. The subsidiary was established to operate as a stockbroker and dealer on the stock exchanges.
Green energy
“The ideology behind Baraka Group’s four power plants puts a strong emphasis on ecological and environmental preservation. When it comes to implementing such projects and running our power plants, we are always dedicated to protecting the environment,” Faisal told The Business Post.
“The numerous projects and activities we have launched in and around our facilities and operations are an outward manifestation of our efforts to preserve and regenerate the environment. This setting highlights global warming and climate change.
“We believe that long-term sustainability can only be attained through environmental preservation,” he said.
Baraka Power is currently engaged in initiatives that increase green cover, reduce effluents and emissions, preserve natural balance in the direct vicinity, and enhance long-term corporate sustainability.
Faisal added, “We are looking for good business opportunities to become involved in solar and bio projects to align ourselves with the anticipated expanding need for renewable energy.
“Our business development team is working relentlessly in search of feasible and viable renewable energy-producing projects.”
Good governance
To ensure good governance in the companies under the group, Faisal said, the boards of the companies strictly comply with the corporate governance code.
Due to that, Baraka Power has won the Bronze Award under the Power Generation Category in the Best Corporate Award 2021, given by the Institute of Cost and Management Accountants of Bangladesh (ICMAB), for the sixth time for good corporate governance, he said.
Major initiatives taken by the company to ensure good governance include the appointment of independent directors to the board, the formation of an audit committee and nomination and remuneration committee as a subcommittee of the board, the appointment of a director from the holding company, the appointment of independent cost and management accounting firm for certifying the compliance of the Corporate Governance Code.
Faisal said, “Knowledge, contact and experience — these things are priceless. Most successful businesses evolve from the knowledge of the industry where you have worked before and how successful you were in your previous career.”
“You may not have an idea today, but keep getting as many qualifications as you can and work as hard as you can to build your career because that will definitely help in the future,” he added.
