Muhammed Aziz Khan is the chairman of Summit Group. Aziz Khan has been living in Singapore as a permanent resident for many years. Recently, he acquired Singaporean citizenship and, under the country’s law, which prohibits dual citizenship, he had to give up his Bangladeshi nationality.
Legal and immigration experts explain that individuals seeking Singaporean citizenship must first surrender their current citizenship and provide evidence of this to local authorities. Barrister Md Tanvir Ahmed, a High Court lawyer, told Bonik Barta, “If dual citizenship is not allowed under Singaporean law, one must surrender their Bangladeshi passport and obtain approval from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirming that they are no longer a Bangladeshi citizen. Aziz Khan has reportedly followed this process, enabling him to acquire Singaporean citizenship.”
For the past seven years, chairman of Bangladesh’s Summit Group Muhammed Aziz Khan has been featured on Forbes’ list of the top 50 richest individuals in Singapore. He first appeared on the list in 2018. Since 2022, he has also been included in Forbes’ global billionaire rankings. Until recently, he was listed as the only Bangladeshi citizen on these rankings, with an additional mention as a permanent resident of Singapore.
Recently, in the latest Forbes list of Singapore’s top 50 richest individuals, Aziz Khan has been identified as a Singaporean citizen. According to sources, this update reflects his decision to renounce Bangladeshi citizenship, prompting Forbes to revise his citizenship details in the updated rankings.
Last year, an interview published in CNA Luxury highlighted Khan’s passion for art and his extensive art collection. The interview highlighted his business-related travels to Singapore and his status as a permanent resident there. The report also noted that Aziz Khan has been a permanent resident of Singapore since 1988, and in 2016, he moved Summit Group’s headquarters to the country.
In September this year, Forbes released its 2024 list of Singapore’s top 50 richest individuals, updating the wealth and other details of those on the list. As of yesterday, Forbes reported that Aziz Khan's net worth stands at $1.1 billion. While he is still recognized as a businessman born in Bangladesh, the list now identifies him as a Singaporean citizen.
Sources confirm that Aziz Khan, his wife, and children have lived in Singapore for many years. Although he occasionally visit to Bangladesh, he spends the majority of his time in Singapore. His nephew has also been residing in Singapore for an extended period.
Efforts to reach Aziz Khan for comments were unsuccessful. When contacted regarding Aziz Khan’s citizenship status, an official from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that they could not confirm details about Aziz Khan’s citizenship without verifying relevant documents.
Aziz Khan first appeared on Forbes’ list of Singapore’s top 50 richest individuals in 2018, ranking 34th with a net worth of $910 million. Although his wealth dipped to $850 million in 2019, it rebounded to $955 million in 2020. And by 2021, his net worth reached $990 million. The following year, it crossed the $1 billion mark, ranking him 42nd on the list in 2022. Khan’s wealth increased ever further to $1.12 billion in 2023, placing him 41st among Singapore’s richest. Recently, in the 2024 Forbes rankings, Khan has been listed as 43rd richest with a net worth of $1.1 billion. Ever since 2022, when Aziz Khan’s wealth surpassed the $1 billion mark, he has been consistently appearing on both Forbes’ list of Singapore’s top 50 richest individuals as well as its global billionaire rankings. According to Forbes, he currently holds the 2,674th position on the global billionaire list.
Born in 1955, Aziz Khan’s entrepreneurial journey began at the age of 18. At that young age as a student, he started a footwear manufacturing business in Old Dhaka with his friends. He used a capital of BDT 30,000 provided by his father. They supplied shoes to Bata and also ventured into importing PVC (polyvinyl chloride). He later expanded into molasses exports, becoming the first Bangladeshi to export the product. He has been in the trading business for more than two decades.
Over nearly five decades, Muhammed Aziz Khan has been involved in diverse ventures, including trading, energy, ports, fiber optics, and infrastructure. However, his most significant success has come from the power sector, which has driven a substantial surge in his wealth over the past decade as chairman of Summit Group.
According to Forbes, Aziz Khan is currently 69 years old. Summit Group operates in Bangladesh across sectors such as power, ports, fiber optics, and infrastructure. Its energy ventures are managed under Singapore-registered Summit Power International, which also oversees floating storage and regasification units (FSRUs), LNG terminals, and Summit Oil and Shipping Company. Additionally, the group invests in ports through its publicly listed company Summit Alliance Port, in fiber optics and IT through Summit Communications, and in the real estate sector.
Aziz Khan, a graduate of Dhaka University’s Institute of Business Administration (IBA), transitioned his business focus to Singapore in the late 1980s. Inspired by his experiences in the export trade and the impact of Bangladesh’s energy shortages, Khan pursued investments in power generation. His vision materialized with Summit Power, laying the foundation for his success. Despite current challenges, Summit Power Limited remains a critical driver of Khan’s financial standing.
This prominent businessman completed his postgraduate studies at the Institute of Business Administration (IBA) at Dhaka University. According to a report published by Singapore-based CNA Digital, Aziz Khan first visited Singapore while working with a friend who was importing plastic wholesale into Bangladesh. At one point, Khan himself began exporting fertilizer. During his business operations, he often had to endure delays at various ports due to power shortages—a recurring issue that caused him significant inconvenience. This experience led him to apply to the relevant authorities in Bangladesh to establish a power plant. In 1997, Aziz Khan founded Summit Power, marking a pivotal moment in his business career.
A significant portion of Aziz Khan’s wealth is tied to Summit Power Limited, a publicly traded company on Bangladesh’s stock market. An analysis of the company’s financial reports over the past 20 years reveals steady growth in assets and net profits from fiscal years 2003 to 2008, with even greater growth in subsequent years. In fiscal year 2003, the company’s total assets stood at BDT 1.82 billion, with a net profit of BDT 115.4 million. By the end of fiscal year 2023, total assets had surged to BDT 111.229 billion, with net profits reaching BDT 1.715 billion. However, Summit Group has recently faced significant business challenges following the fall of the Awami League government in August. The group is currently under several investigations, and the contract for constructing its second LNG terminal has been canceled. Of the 15 power plants owned by Summit Power, five are no longer operational. Collectively, these developments mark one of the most challenging periods for Summit Group in its history.