About

About Shafiat Sobhan

Shafiat Sobhan is a prominent Bangladeshi business figure. Educated in the United Kingdom, he is the Vice Chairman of the Bashundhara Group and is also part of the company’s Board of  Directors.

In addition to these roles, Shafiat is a main shareholder and director of the Bashundhara Group’s  LP gas, food and beverage, trading, and entertainment operations. He is also involved in agriculture, horticulture, and industrial ventures and manages the Bashundhara and East-West  Special Economic Zones, as well as the Sundarbans Industrial Complex.

Rise to Leadership

Shafiat’s rise to the top of the corporate ladder was swift and decisive, marked by a series of strategic career moves. Shortly after joining the Bashundhara Group, he became part of the company’s Board of Directors and was concurrently assigned Vice Chairman.

These roles were ideally suited to Shafiat, given his wide range of skills and expansive knowledge.  He was more than up to the challenge, taking on key responsibilities in the company’s HR  development, finance, investment management, and business planning and implementation functions.

Shafiat’s career advancement was a fortuitous one for himself and the company. Within a remarkably short period, he managed to implement crucial expansion and restructuring schemes in the Bashundhara Group’s LP gas, shipping, and engineering operations. He was instrumental in launching the country’s first automated LP gas cylinder-producing plant. His exemplary leadership also resulted in the establishment of new ventures in the company’s food and beverage, shipping and logistics, and service sectors, as well as in amusement, recreation, and sports.

At the core of Shafiat Sobhan’s success are his exemplary industrial management skills and business insight. With his uncommon result-oriented vision, he has managed to enhance the operational performances of the Bashundhara Group’s individual units, resulting in significantly improved outcomes.

Shafiat is especially effective at improving the production performance of key units, enabling each to achieve unprecedented heights and significantly expanding their consumer market shares. With his leadership guidance and foresightedness, Shafiat helped the corporation garner a sizable market share within a remarkably short period.

Shafiat’s negotiation and strategic risk-taking capabilities should also be mentioned. These qualities have enabled the Bashundhara Group to successfully complete many profitable national and international business deals.

Professional Recognition

Shafiat’s remarkable professional achievements have resulted in widespread recognition among his peers. A member of the FBCCI’s LPG Operators Association of Bangladesh, he is also a former member of the Dhaka Chamber of Commerce & Industries (DCCI) and even served as the chamber’s Board Director in 2015.

Shafiat’s acclaim extends beyond Bangladesh’s borders. In 2011, during the United States’ 235th  anniversary of independence, he was formally awarded the prestigious Certificate of Special  Congressional Recognition. In 2021, he was recognized as the ‘Most Influential Retail Leader’ by the UK-based economic journal Business Tabloid, based on the 2020 to 2021 performance of  Bashundhara Food and Beverage.

The Bashundhara Group in Detail

No profile of Shafiat Sobhan would be complete without a close look at the Bashundhara Group.  After all, the billion-dollar company is where Shafiat achieved his most significant accomplishments.

Bashundhara Group was a real estate venture established under the auspices of East-West Property  Development (Pvt) Ltd. Launched in 1987, it was a hugely successful undertaking that helped foster trust and confidence in the “Bashundhara” brand. Central to the company’s success was the growing population of the old city of Dhaka, which faced a distinct shortage of quality housing options.

Following its initial success, Bashundhara took the opportunity to invest in new industries,  particularly manufacturing and trading. The company quickly followed this up with a slew of equally profitable enterprises in the early 1990s, making inroads in the cement, paper, pulp,  and tissue paper production sectors.

Soon, the Bashundhara Group became involved in LPG bottling and distribution and domestic trading. The company later expanded this venture to accommodate international clients.

Remarkably, Bashundhara grew from a fledgling start-up to a multimillion-dollar company in less than a decade. The company also expanded its operations in land development and real estate during this period, with projects that focused on increased responsiveness to client needs.

At present, the Bashundhara Group’s first publicly traded company, Meghna Cement Mills  Limited, is listed on Bangladesh’s two major stock exchanges.

Shafiat Sobhan and Bashundhara Group: Onward to the Future

The Bashundhara Group currently has over 20 major business enterprises throughout Bangladesh.  The Group also continues its operation of East West Media Group Ltd., a media conglomerate that produces the Bangla dailies Kaler Kantho and Bangladesh Pratidin, as well as the English daily,  the Daily Sun. The company also owns and operates Banglanews24.com, an online news portal, an FM radio station, and a television channel.