Our Growth Strategy

Bangladesh is our core market and we expect it to continue to be a growth market for us for the foreseeable future. The country has a population of 165 million and is one of Asia’s most vibrant economies. Bangladesh’s 2020 nominal GDP stood at USD 323 billion, having grown at a 10.8% CAGR in the preceding ten years, nearly tripling the size of the economy. Exports grew at a robust 7.6% CAGR over that same period, despite experiencing a sharp 17% drop in 2020 due to COVID-19. Industrial growth has been consistent and the nation is now the second largest exporter of ready-made garments in the world, after China. GDP per capita has grown at a 10% CAGR over this period and is now amongst the highest in South Asia. Strong economic and industrial growth, and a growing population, are key drivers for increasing electricity demand.

Over the past 10 years approximately 15 GW of installed generation capacity has been added in Bangladesh, to a total of 22 GW (as of June 2021), tripling the country’s generation capacity. Despite this, Bangladesh’s installed capacity per million people is less than half that of India and Indonesia, and one-fifth that of Vietnam. Per capita consumption of electricity remains low at about 378 kWh, less than 40% of the level in India and Indonesia, ~60% of that in Pakistan, and less than 20% that in Vietnam, pointing to considerable demand for power and growth prospects for us in the years to come.

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The government is promoting the establishment of LNG import infrastructure to alleviate gas shortages which are currently hindering growth in the power sector; we expect this to result in growth in gas-to-power opportunities.

We intend to continue faithfully serving the people of Bangladesh to the best of our capabilities, as we have done the past twenty years, by expanding our power generation portfolio in the country and continuing to deliver reliable, safe and competitive electricity to the expanding power grid. Our pipeline of opportunities for new projects is robust and totals in excess of 3 GW. We will keep growing this pipeline and expect to secure and complete a reasonable proportion of these opportunities, in keeping with our track record.

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In particular, we expect to grow our gas-to-power strategy incorporating large gas fired combined cycle projects that will be made possible by the development of LNG infrastructure. Our FSRU project and Meghnaghat 2 power project are examples of this strategic initiative.

We aim to continuously improve the quality and safety of our plant operations, benchmarking ourselves against the best IPPs both regionally and globally and optimise the technical, commercial and financial aspects of our operations. We aspire to high environmental, social and governance standards, benchmarking ourselves against national regulations and criteria established by multilateral institutions.

Beyond Bangladesh, we are selectively pursuing regional expansion, leveraging on our experience in the power sector and the expertise of our partners, into neighbouring countries such as India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Malaysia and Vietnam. We will look to participate in selected government tenders or private sales in these countries, seeking to replicate a similar growth strategy as executed in Bangladesh. We will pursue opportunities in renewable power and battery storage, positioning ourselves for growth in the new energy economy.