While in power, Salman's Amar Bond shone bright. Out of power, 2nd bond flopped
Bond investors paid from reserve, not revenue
Highlights:
- Salman F Rahman's political fall crippled his business empire
- Beximco's second bond failed after regime change in August 2024
- Only Tk541 crore raised out of Tk1,500 crore target
- Mayanagar project stalled; only 10% completed by April 2025
- Bond repayments continue but reserve funds will exhaust soon
Salman F Rahman is discovering the hard way that power and business success often go hand in hand — and that losing one can quickly sink the other.
Take the case of Sreepur Township Limited (STL), a real estate company hastily assembled in March 2023 under Salman's Beximco empire. Almost immediately, newspapers were flooded with full-page ads for the "IFIC Aamar Bond" — a cleverly packaged financial instrument aimed at raising Tk1,000 crore for STL's flagship project, Mayanagar, in Gazipur.
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The strategy worked: Tk1,000 crore wortha of bonds were snapped up within five weeks, attracted by a 12% return. Power was intact. Money was easy.
But the wheel of fortune turned sharply on 5 August 2024 when Sheikh Hasina's government was ousted following a fierce uprising. Salman, once a business titan, was arrested and jailed. Without his political clout, a second bond issue — this time targeting Tk1,500 crore — collapsed spectacularly.
Though Beximco had secured BSEC's approval in May 2024 to float the new bond — ostensibly to refinance loans and inject funds into STL — the political winds had shifted. Investors grew wary, even with a tempting 15% return, and state-owned institutions pulled out.
Sources at BSEC confirmed Beximco managed to raise just Tk541 crore, barely 36% of the target, most of it before the regime change. For example, the Investment Corporation of Bangladesh (ICB) formally withdrew its planned Tk100 crore investment at a board meeting in February and informed the Ministry of Finance in April.
With banks, wealthy individuals, and loyal institutions backing away, Beximco abandoned the fundraising effort altogether.
"We have taken the funds we received within the subscription period as final. No further funds will be raised," said Md Luthfor Rahman, CFO of Beximco Ltd. He admitted the business was under strain, with one unit already shut down and banks cutting off support.
Mayanagar: A dream deferred
Through two bond issues, Beximco raised a total of Tk1,541 crore — Tk1,000 crore from the first bond and Tk541 crore from the second. But the Mayanagar project is now barely alive. By April 2025, only 10% of the work had been completed, and the grand dream of an affordable township is little more than a ghost project.
Kaisar Ahmed, Company Secretary of STL, said construction stalled after the political upheaval. Protesters vandalised equipment, causing damages worth Tk40 crore, and destroyed boundary structures. Although landfilling and road development are complete, building construction has yet to begin.
Bond repayments: Running on fumes
With Mayanagar stalled, STL is using the raised capital to repay bondholders. Tk180 crore has been paid out of a Tk240 crore reserve, disbursed at Tk10 crore per month. If the reserve dries up, IFIC Bank's guarantee will be the last line of defence — although IFIC itself now faces pressure from its past entanglements with Salman.
IFIC Bank spokesperson Rafiqul Islam told TBS that the Tk240 crore fund will take another six months to be exhausted.
"Before the fund runs out, we will hold meetings with the project owners. After hearing about their plans, we will present it to the board. Since we are the guarantor of the bond, actions will be taken as per the board's instructions," he said.
The Numbers behind the dream
Mayanagar was envisioned as a Tk6,095 crore project covering 76 lakh square feet along the Nabinagar-Chandra Highway in Gazipur. Beximco owns 75% of the land, STL 25%. Funding was to come from a mix of equity, debt, landowners' contributions, and customer advances.
The original bond issued in 2023 raised Tk1,000 crore and promised repayment of Tk1,600 crore at maturity. The bond currently trades on Dhaka Stock Exchange's alternative board.
Purpose of the Tk1,500 crore bond
Beximco, the issuer of the Beximco 1st Zero-Coupon Bond valued at Tk1,500 crore (with an aggregate face value of Tk2,625 crore), planned to use Tk500 crore to repay existing loans and Tk1,000 crore to provide loans to STL, the developer of the Mayanagar project.
In other words, the company intended to raise Tk1,500 crore from investors and repay Tk2,625 crore upon maturity. The bond was offered at a discounted rate of 15% per annum.
Salman's playbook: Bonds and power
Using political clout, Beximco Group—owned by Salman F Rahman—raised Tk4,000 crore from the market via bonds between 2021 and 2023. Several institutional investors, including banks, were reportedly pressured into subscribing.
In July 2023, the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) approved Sreepur Township's Tk1,000 crore bond issuance, with IFIC Bank acting as guarantor. Marketed under the name "IFIC Aamar Bond," the bond drew 7,173 investors within a month.
Under its terms, Sreepur Township raised Tk1,000 crore and committed to repaying Tk1,600 crore upon maturity. The IFIC-guaranteed bond is currently traded on the Dhaka Stock Exchange's alternative trading board.
Earlier, in 2021, Beximco raised Tk3,000 crore through a Sukuk bond to finance two solar power plants and expand its textile division.
But political power is a fragile foundation. Without it, even the best-laid financial schemes can crumble overnight.
