Mohammad Aziz Khan, chairman of the critically acclaimed commercial group Summit Group, has been ranked among the top 50 rich in Singapore. The name of Aziz Khan as the 34th richest man on the list made by the world famous Forbes Magazine has been mentioned.
As per Forbes report, till July last year, the amount of assets of Aziz Khan and his family was $ 91 million.
63-year-old Aziz Khan has been a permanent resident of Singapore for more than a decade. Summit Group has business in Bangladesh, electricity, port, fiber optics, communications, hospitality, industrial park, real estate sector.
Aziz Khan started his business life mainly by trading business. But its unforeseen emergence comes from electricity business. The owner of Khulna Power, the country's first private power plant, was the president of Aziz Khan and United Group's president Hasan Raza. Instead of setting up a large power plant in the government's initiative, the long-awaited allegation that a syndicate is being offered financially wholly by IPP, rental and quick rental in the private sector.
Summit Group and United Group are the biggest beneficiaries of this policy. The two groups are the major players in the power sector of the country. By selling high power electricity to the government (the ultimate consumer, the general public) they have become overflowing with finger swelling overnight. Later, both groups made huge investments in a number of businesses outside the power sector. However, the power sector is still the main revenue provider.
In 1998, the Summit's first power plant went into production. At present, 17 centers of the Summit are providing 9 percent of the country's total electricity demand, according to their website information.
Summit Power recently signed an agreement with US General Electric (GE) and Japanese Mitsubishi Corporation to invest $ 300 billion in Bangladesh.
Under it, there are plans to set up four power plants of two 400 MW, two LNG terminals, an oil terminal and an HFO-based power plant.
Samit Power International, the Summit Group organization, has recently started the process of listing on the Singapore Stock Exchange (SGX). A company owned by Aziz Khan family, wants to collect money from SGX for investment in various countries in Asia.
Two years ago the names of Aziz Khan and his family members came in the Offshore Lex Database published by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists ICI. Aziz Khan family is seen to have invested in the British Virgin Islands in that list named Panapa Papers.
However, the Summit Chairman denied any allegations of irregularities.
Capital account is not yet convertible in Bangladesh. So, money can not be sent from Bangladesh legally for investment abroad. In the situation of how Aziz Khan has created so much wealth in Singapore, no question has ever been raised from the government or policy-making stage.