The Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) has given its no-objection to the proposed new boards of two listed Beximco Group companies — Bangladesh Export Import Company PLC (Beximco) and Shinepukur Ceramics PLC — excluding group founder Salman F Rahman.
The decision was taken at the commission’s 1,032nd meeting on Tuesday, chaired by BSEC Chairman Masud Khan, and disclosed in a press release issued on Wednesday.
For Shinepukur Ceramics, the proposed seven-member board will have ASF Rahman as chairman and sponsor, while OK Chowdhury, Iqbal Ahmed, Ajmal Kabir and Quamrun Nahar Ahmed will serve as directors nominated by the sponsor group. The company will also appoint two independent directors in accordance with the Corporate Governance Code, 2018.
For Beximco PLC, ASF Rahman will serve as chairman and sponsor, while OK Chowdhury will be the managing director. Iqbal Ahmed, Ajmal Kabir and Quamrun Nahar Ahmed will serve as sponsor-nominated directors. Shah Monjurul Hoque will be an independent director, with another independent director to be appointed in accordance with the Corporate Governance Code, 2018.
BSEC Executive Director and spokesperson Md Abul Kalam told Daily Waadaa that the commission did not appoint the new boards but only gave its no-objection to proposals submitted by the companies.
“We did not remove them. The company said it wanted to do this, and the commission said it had no objection,” he said.
Abul said the commission’s no-objection was subject to the companies withdrawing their respective court cases against the regulator.
“We said that if you withdraw the case, we will withdraw our orders as well. You can form this board; we have no objection. The condition is that you withdraw the case, and we will also withdraw our orders,” he said.
He said the proposed board structures were based on the companies’ own proposals.
Abul also said the regulator took into account an oral direction from the court regarding the composition of independent directors.
He said the companies had earlier been given boards comprising nine independent directors, but the court proceedings raised questions over whether such a structure was consistent with the Corporate Governance Code.
Salman, a former private industry and investment adviser to former prime minister Sheikh Hasina has been in custody since his arrest following the fall of the Awami League government in August 2024.
Following the political changeover on August 5, the BSEC moved to restructure the boards of three listed Beximco Group companies. The companies subsequently challenged the regulator’s decisions in court.
The latest decision is intended to resolve the legal dispute. The BSEC said its earlier orders concerning Beximco and Shinepukur Ceramics would be withdrawn if the companies withdraw their respective court cases. The relevant orders were issued on December 31, 2024 and January 15, 2026.
The BSEC had earlier given a no-objection to the proposed reconstruction of the board of Beximco Pharmaceuticals on September 29, also excluding Salman F Rahman. That decision was linked to the company’s withdrawal of its legal case against the regulator.