Bangladesh's sole billionaire sees 10% rise in net worth

By Dat Nguyen April 10, 2024 | 01:43 am PT

Billionaire Muhammed Aziz Khan, chairman of Summit Group. Photo by Amitcse29 via Wikipedia

Muhammed Aziz Khan, the only billionaire in Bangladesh, saw his net worth rising 10% in a year to $1.1 billion as of early April, according to Forbes.

The chairman of Summit Group, which has interests in power, ports, fiber optics and real estate, has now been included in the U.S. magazine’s list of global billionaires for the second year.

Khan, 69, started doing business at the age of 18 when he borrowed money from his father to invest in a joint venture with a friend.

Khan established Summit in 1997 and has led it in building partnerships with multinationals such as U.S. energy giant General Electric and the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation.

Summit has secured billions of dollars in financing for infrastructure projects within Bangladesh and accounts for around one-fifth of power generation in the country.

In 2019, Khan sold a 22% stake in Summit Power International to Japan's JERA for $330 million, which valued the company at $1.5 billion.

Khan is a permanent resident in Singapore. His daughter, Ayesha, runs Summit Power International.