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Orion Group
Company type Public
Industry pharmaceuticals, cosmetics & toiletries, infrastructure development, real estate, engineering, power, agribusiness, hospitality, textiles, aviation
Headquarters Dhaka, Bangladesh
RevenueIncreaseUS$350 million (2013)
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

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

  • 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

References

  1. ^ a b "Orion moves to implement coal power project". The Daily Star. 2016-10-14. Retrieved 2016-10-29.
  2. ^ a b "Doing business getting tough". The Daily Star. 2015-03-15. Retrieved 2016-10-29.
  3. ^ a b c d e f "4 major private power deals signed". The Daily Star. 2011-12-21. Retrieved 2016-10-29.
  4. ^ a b "Public meeting held for coal-based power plant in Munshiganj | Dhaka Tribune". Dhaka Tribune. 2016-10-15. Retrieved 2016-10-29.
  5. ^ 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.
  6. ^ a b c d e "Orion Group Companies". The Daily Star. Retrieved 2022-10-27.
  7. ^ "PM pays toll for her motorcade using Dhaleshwari bridge, Mayor Hanif flyover". bdnews24.com. Retrieved 2016-10-29.
  8. ^ a b c "Krispy Kreme opens doors tomorrow". The Daily Star. 2016-05-06. Retrieved 2022-10-27.
  9. ^ Habib, Ahsan (2022-09-21). "3 Orion firms see unusual price hike of stocks". The Daily Star. Retrieved 2022-10-27.
  10. ^ "(East West Airlines) history from Bangladesh, Rest of World". Airline History. Retrieved 2022-10-27.
  11. ^ Rahman, Mushfiqur (2013-10-09). "Little option but to go for coal-fired power". The Daily Star. Retrieved 2022-10-27.
  12. ^ The Shorter Wisden India Almanack 2013. A&C Black. 2013-02-28. ISBN  978-93-82951-01-8.
  13. ^ "Orion gets nod to borrow $88m in foreign loans". The Daily Star. 2014-09-22. Retrieved 2022-10-27.
  14. ^ "Orion hits country's footwear market". Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha. 2017-05-10. Archived from the original on 2017-05-10. Retrieved 2022-10-27.
  15. ^ "Shining future for Bangladesh leather sector as China shifts focus". bdnews24.com. Retrieved 2022-10-27.
  16. ^ "Orion to set up 635MW coal power plant". The Daily Star. 2016-04-22. Retrieved 2022-10-27.
  17. ^ Uddin, AKM Zamir (2020-10-28). "Target forex reserve". The Daily Star. Retrieved 2022-10-27.
  18. ^ "HC stays BB list including Orion group chairman as loan defaulter". The Daily Star. 2021-05-24. Retrieved 2022-10-27.
  19. ^ a b "Orion Pharma Ltd. : : Home". Orion Group. Retrieved 2022-10-27.
  20. ^ "Mayor Mohammad Hanif Flyover : : Home". Orion Group. Retrieved 2022-10-27.
  21. ^ "Orion Power Meghnaghat Ltd. : : Home". Orion Group. Retrieved 2022-10-27.
  22. ^ "Dutch Bangla Power & Associates Ltd. : : Home". Orion Group. Retrieved 2022-10-27.
  23. ^ "Digital Power & Associates Ltd. : : Home". Orion Group. Retrieved 2022-10-27.
  24. ^ "Orion Power Dhaka Ltd. : : Home". Orion Group. Retrieved 2022-10-27.
  25. ^ "Orion Power Dhaka Unit-2 Ltd. : : Home". Orion Group. Retrieved 2022-10-27.
  26. ^ "Orion Power Rupsha Ltd. : : Home". Orion Group. Retrieved 2022-10-27.
  27. ^ "Orion Power Sonargaon Ltd. : : Orion power Sonargaon Ltd". Orion Group. Retrieved 2022-10-27.
  28. ^ "Orion Gas Ltd. : : Home". Orion Group. Retrieved 2022-10-27.
  29. ^ "Orion Oil and Shipping Ltd. : : HOME". Orion Group. Retrieved 2022-10-27.
  30. ^ "City Centre : : Home". www.orion-group.net. Retrieved 2022-10-27.
  31. ^ "Interior Accom Consortium Ltd. : : Home". Orion Group. Retrieved 2022-10-27.
  32. ^ "Jafflong Tea Company Ltd. : : Home". Orion Group. Retrieved 2022-10-27.
  33. ^ "Panbo Bangla Mushroom Ltd. : : Home". Orion Group. Retrieved 2022-10-27.
  34. ^ "Orion Agro Products Ltd. : : Home". Orion Group. Retrieved 2022-10-27.
  35. ^ "Noakhali Gold Foods Ltd. : : Home". Orion Group. Retrieved 2022-10-27.
  36. ^ "Kohinoor Chemical Company (BD) Ltd. : : Home". Orion Group. Retrieved 2022-10-27.
  37. ^ "Orion Knit Textiles Ltd. : : Home". Orion Group. Retrieved 2022-10-27.
  38. ^ "Orion Footwear Ltd. : : Home". Orion Group. Retrieved 2022-10-27.
  39. ^ a b "Orion Home Appliance Ltd. : : Home". Orion Group. Retrieved 2022-10-27.
  40. ^ "Orion Games Ltd". Orion Group. Retrieved 2022-10-27.
  41. ^ "Orion Consumer Products Ltd". Orion Group. Retrieved 2022-10-27.

External links