Beximco, the largest private sector industrial conglomerate in Bangladesh, said it has set up a joint venture with a Saudi firm to invest nearly $1 billion for upgradation of Bangladesh's sole oil refinery. “Beximco and Marasel Company of Saudi Arabia will jointly submit interest for funding an upgradation project of the Eastern Refinery Limited,” a statement from Beximco said. State-owned Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) invited offers in July from international firms and financial institutions to finance the $900 million project near Chittagong port. “The fund from Beximco and Marasel are likely to be accepted if the terms and conditions are found favorable,” a senior official of BPC told Reuters. Beximco's businesses range from textiles to pharmaceuticals. Its subsidiary Beximco Pharmaceuticals is listed in London. The Marasel Company is owned by Saudi Prince Salman Bin Sultan Bin Abdul Aziz Al-Saud and has large investments in different sectors, mainly in energy. “In line with its business diversification objectives, Beximco Ltd is now poised to enter into the oil and energy sector, and has mobilized necessary resources for this purpose,” the statement said. Beximco owns the single largest stake in a Bangladesh private bank and a local private airline, a senior executive of Beximco said. But he could not give the size of the conglomerate in terms of equity. The upgrade will increase ERL's production capacity by 200 per cent to 4.5 million tons per year from 2013.
