Meghna Group keeps roaring
South African golfer Gary Player’s saying that “the harder one works, the luckier one gets” best sums up the narrative of Mostafa Kamal’s career. Hailing from a humble farming family in Comilla, he went on to set up nearly three dozen industrial units, collectively known as Meghna Group of Industries — the recipient of ‘Enterprise of the Year’ prize at the Bangladesh Business Awards 2016.
It was always a dream of mine to set up such a big group of companies,” Kamal, founder and chairman Meghna Group, told The Daily Star in an interview. I’m grateful that I was able to make it happen.
It all started back in 1972 when Kamal first dipped his toes into the world of commodity trading. Even though he made some money from it, it wasn’t enough to make his dream of becoming an entrepreneur a reality.
Despite a setback, he took up a job in 1974 at Mohammad Hossain & Company. There, he earned enough to eventually start his own venture, Kamal Trading Company, in 1976.
He started by importing commodities on a limited scale. However, his dreams were almost shattered when he found that the imported goods were substandard and the customs department refused to release them.
After returning to Old Dhaka and partnering with a trader, Kamal experienced some success and failures in the 1980s. However, in 1989 he was finally able to establish a vegetable oil mill, which led to further success. Today, Meghna Group has expanded to 36 factories and employs over 20,000 people. With a sales turnover of $2 billion last year, this year’s sales are estimated at $2.8 billion.
Meghna’s industries encompass a wide variety of sectors, including but not limited to: fast-moving consumer goods, cement, commodities, chemicals, seed crushing, fish and poultry feed, power generation, salt, bottled water and industrial products.
The company’s consumer brands — Fresh, No 1, and Pure — are well-known among Bangladeshi households, with Meghna claiming that half of all households in the country use its products. Additionally, the company exports its products to several other countries.
Since 2001, Meghna has been establishing new factories on an annual basis. In recent years, when other businesses have hesitated to take on new ventures, Meghna has continued to invest in new lines of businesses.
The group has committed $1 billion to setting up six new lines of business and expanding existing ones. These include chemicals, PVC, coal power plants, salt, seed crushing, cement, and paper.
Meghna’s work does not stop at manufacturing. The conglomerate has received the final license from the government to develop two economic zones, where factories will be set up.
Kamal said that they are investing $1 billion in the zones this year, and that they are in talks with some foreign investors to invest in the economic zones.
Construction work is underway for the Meghna Pulp and Paper Mills, MPP Power Plant, Sonargaon Flour Mills, Meghna Edible Oil Refinery, Meghna PVC, Meghna Container Port, Tasnim Chemical Complex (unit-2), Sonargaon Seed Crushing Mills and Meghna Sugar Refinery at the Meghna Economic Zone. The group is also in the process of setting up two additional factories, Meghna Beverage and Unique Cement Fiber Industries, at the Meghna Industrial Economic Zone.
Despite having a large empire, the group has never defaulted on a loan – something that is quite rare in Bangladesh. They have never needed to approach the capital market for funds either.
The head of the group says that they have been able to achieve this success by taking lots of risks. However, if they were a publicly listed company, they would not be able to take such bold decisions. In a family business, they can think about something in the morning and begin work on it in the afternoon.
Kamal is securing loans from foreign sources at relatively low costs to finance his businesses. Local banks are willing to lend him at rates lower than the prevailing market rates because of the group’s strong reputation, according to a top banker.
“When customers go from one bank to another to secure loans, bankers vie for the opportunity to make him their client,” said Anis A Khan, managing director of Mutual Trust Bank.
The Meghna group’s assets are worth in excess of $1 billion, and it also holds significant stakes in shipping, ship breaking, media, aviation, general insurance and banking.
Kamal sees a bright future for Bangladesh as the youth is being groomed to take the country forward. Three of his children, after studying at unversities abroad, have joined Meghna Group.
“The young generation just needs adequate infrastructure and a sound law and order situation.”
