Our Growth Strategy

Bangladesh is our core market and we expect it to continue to be a growth market for us in the foreseeable future. The country has a population of 174.7 million [1] and is one of Asia’s most vibrant economies. Bangladesh’s 2023 nominal GDP was USD 446.35 billion, having grown at a Compounded Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 9.5% in the preceding ten years [2]. Exports grew at a CAGR of 6.6% over that same period, despite experiencing a sharp 16% drop in 2020 due to COVID-19. Industrial growth has been consistent and the nation was the second largest exporter of ready-made garments in the world, after China in 2022 [3]. GDP per capita has grown at a CAGR of 9.8% between 2013-2023 [4] 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 15.6 GW of installed generation capacity has been added in Bangladesh, to reach a total of 27.054 GW (as of March  2024) [5]. Despite this phenomenal growth rate, Bangladesh’s installed capacity per million people is still less than half that of India, and about one-fifth that of Vietnam. Per capita consumption of electricity remains low at about 330 kWh, less than 40% of the level in India, and around 20% that in Vietnam, pointing to the prospects of considerable power demand growth 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 and we expect this to translate into more gas-to-power opportunities.

We intend to continue faithfully serving the people of Bangladesh to the best of our capabilities, as we have done over the past twenty years, by expanding our power generation portfolio in the country and continuing to deliver reliable, safe and affordable electricity to the expanding power grid.

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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.

With the integration of Summit Oil and Shipping Co Ltd (“SOSCL”) into Summit Power International Ltd, we have moved further upstream in the power and energy business via the provision of fuel supplies to the power plants. This allows us to capture a greater part of the fuel-to-power value chain, thereby creating more benefits for the communities we operate in, especially Bangladesh.

In view of Vision 2041 promulgated by Government of Bangladesh whereby the Power Ministry aims to bring in 9GW of capacity from regional markets, like India, Bhutan and Nepal, where renewable power potential is more abundant, we strive to develop our own Round-the-Clock (RTC) renewable power solution for import into Bangladesh. This is achieved via the seamless integration of solar, wind, hydro and Battery Energy Storage Solution (BESS) to provide carbon free and reliable energy to Bangladesh, which is one of the countries that are most vulnerable to the impact of climate change. In the mid-2023, Danish investors Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (“CIP”) and Copenhagen Offshore Partners (“COP”)proposed USD 1.3 billion investment to develop a 500 MW offshore wind energy project off the coast of Bay of Bengal with Summit [6].

While resources in Bangladesh continue to be limited in developing conventional utility scale solar and onshore wind projects, Summit, as the leading IPP in Bangladesh believes in pushing the technological frontiers for the sake of our fellow countrymen to combat the deleterious effects of climate change. With international developers and investment partners globally, we are working on the first offshore wind project in Bangladesh, capitalising on the country’s extensive coastline and the strong coastal wind profile.

We strive to continuously improve the quality and safety of our plant operations, benchmarking ourselves against the best IPPs both regionally and globally, through the optimization of the technical, commercial and financial aspects of our operations. We aspire to achieve 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 our experience in the power sector and the expertise of our partners to explore projects in neighbouring countries such as in South Asia and Southeast Asia, in particular, India, Sri Lanka, and Bhutan. Beyond the list, we continue to identify countries at a similar development stage as Bangladesh as we strive to create value in these countries by applying the experience we have gained as the leading IPP in Bangladesh. 

We look to participate selectively in government tenders or private sales in these countries, seeking to replicate a similar growth strategy that we have successfully executed in Bangladesh by looking at asset classes, where we have strong capabilities within Summit and via our bigger ecosystem of partners, such as JERA and Mitsubishi. We will be pursuing opportunities in gas infrastructure, gas based Combined Cycle Power Plants (CCPP), where we believe we can replicate the experience we acquired in developing the end-to-end gas value chain in Bangladesh. 

We are also enthusiastic about developing renewable power, positioning ourselves for growth in the new energy economy in these markets, which are well-endowed to enable such green electricity to be provided both locally and regionally. This includes developing hydropower resources in mountainous regions, like Bhutan and Nepal while investing in utility-scale solar and wind farms in Sri Lanka and India, where solar irradiance and wind resources are plentiful.