About the Organization

Abul Khair Group is one of Bangladesh's largest and most diversified industrial conglomerates, with a heritage stretching back more than seven decades. It is a diversified Bangladeshi conglomerate based in Chittagong, founded in 1953 by Abul Khair, with around 45,000 employees, and interests spanning steel, powdered milk, sanitary ware, cement, tea, iron sheet, marble and granite, and candy, among others. Its beginnings were modest and entrepreneurial; the group's first business was tobacco, producing and marketing Abul Biri cigarettes, before it expanded into other sectors over time. From those origins it has grown into a market leader across much of its portfolio; Abul Khair Group started its journey in 1953 as a single-product company and is today a well-established, leading private-sector company with operations spanning several categories, remaining the market leader in most of its businesses, with most of its brands in leading positions locally alongside a growing export footprint.

The group is headquartered in Chittagong and family-led. It is based at D.T. Road, Pahartali, Chittagong, with Abul Kashem as Chairman, Abul Hashem as Managing Director, and Abu Syed Chowdhury as Deputy Managing Director. Its consumer goods arm, commonly known as AKCGD, anchors its FMCG presence; the Consumer Goods Division began in 1994 when Starship Condensed Milk was first introduced, and Starship still leads its market with a dominant share.

Business Operations

Abul Khair Group operates across heavy industry and fast-moving consumer goods, with leading positions in several core sectors. It is engaged in the manufacturing and marketing of many diversified fast-moving consumer goods such as condensed milk, powder milk, tea, beverages, snacks, and tobacco, alongside steel products, cement, ceramics, and ready-mix concrete, serving both domestic and international markets.

In building materials, its cement business is the national leader. Shah Cement Industries Limited, founded in 2002 by Abul Khair Group in Munshiganj, is the largest cement plant in Bangladesh in terms of production capacity, and in 2018 it installed a vertical roller mill recognised by Guinness World Records as the world's largest vertical roller mill, supplied by the Danish company FLSmidth. In steel, it is a major player with a strong export profile; Abul Khair Steel entered flat-steel manufacturing in 1993, produces Corrugated Iron Sheet, Galvanized Plain Sheet, and Cold Rolled Coil, holds market leadership in galvanized steel under its Cow brand for over 20 years, and exports its galvanized and colour-coated products to over 34 countries, while its AKS complex houses the country's largest oxygen plant.

In consumer goods, it dominates the powdered-milk category and is building tea exports. Abul Khair Group is the highest importer and market leader in Bangladesh's powder milk category, holding a 38% market share through its four trusted brands, MARKS, AMA, Starship, and Aura. Its quality and reach are backed by formal credentials; with certificates from organisations like ISO, HACCP, and BSTI, the consumer goods division is recognised both nationally and internationally and exports to Middle Eastern countries along with India, Pakistan, and Nepal.

Affiliations With BUP Career Club

Abul Khair Group has joined the BUP Career Club's flagship event as a participating company for the 9th edition of BUP Career and Education Fest 2026. MARKS, one of AKG's flagship brand provided a key role as a snacks partner this year. Another Brand of AKG's AMA coffee served as a coffee partner of the BUP Career and Education Fest 2025.

The BUP Career Club works to bridge the corporate world and the university, helping fresh graduates reach their desired professions while equipping students with the skills to get ahead. As one of Bangladesh's largest and most diversified conglomerates, with leading businesses in cement, steel, and FMCG and a workforce of around 45,000, Abul Khair Group offers BUP students exposure to careers across an unusually broad industrial and consumer-goods footprint, spanning manufacturing, sales and marketing, supply chain, and management, while the group gains access to a strong pool of business and professional graduates.