Inflammatory Beginning, Unanimous Success in the

Present Business World and the Potential Future of

Alibaba and SQUARE Group

Group- 08
Inflammatory Beginning, Unanimous Success in the
Present Business World and the Potential Future of
Alibaba and SQUARE Group

Prepared for:
Md. Saimum Hossain, CFA
Assistant Professor
Department of Finance
Faculty of Business Studies (FBS)
University of Dhaka

Prepared by:
Group: 08
Section: C
Department of Finance
Faculty of Business Studies (FBS)
University of Dhaka

Date of Submission: July 01, 2019

 Group Profile
Group: 08
Section: C
Department of Finance
Faculty of Business Studies (FBS)
University of Dhaka

SL No. Members’ Name ID No. Signature Remarks

01 Abdullah Al Mamun 25-022

02 Md. Shaker Alam Rakib 25-032

03 Ashraful Islam Showrov 25-074

04 Lopa Akter 25-077

05 Jannatul Mawa Mim 24-012

 Letter of Transmittal
July 01, 2019

Md. Saimum Hossain

Assistant Professor
Department of Finance
Faculty of Business Studies (FBS)
University of Dhaka

Subject: Letter regarding submission of report on “Inflammatory Beginning, Unanimous

Success in the Present Business World and the Potential Future of Alibaba and SQUARE
Group.”

Dear Sir,

Here is the in-depth qualitative report of “Inflammatory Beginning, Unanimous Success in

the Present Business World and the Potential Future of Alibaba and SQUARE Group.”

We, the group members have employed our utmost effort to make this report as you have
wanted it to be done by us. Therefore, we visited the official website, facebook page of Alibaba
and SQUARE Group to collect information. Moreover, we gathered information from different
websites and YouTube by surfing internet. Working on this assignment has been a great
learning experience and we have tried to meet all the requirements to the best of our abilities.
We expect that our efforts will do the job as you required. We believe that working on this report
will help developing our observation skill and enrich our experience.

Sincerely yours,

Abdullah Al Mamun
On behalf of the group members
Section: C, BBA 25th Batch
Department of Finance
Faculty of Business Studies (FBS)
University of Dhaka
Contents
Executive Summary .................................................................................................................................. vi
1. Introduction.......................................................................................................................................... 1
2. Alibaba Group ..................................................................................................................................... 1
2.1 Story of Emergence ................................................................................................................... 1
2.2 Present Condition of Alibaba Group ........................................................................................ 2
2.3 Future Possibilities ..................................................................................................................... 2
3. SQUARE Group ................................................................................................................................. 3
3.1 Background and History ............................................................................................................ 3
3.2 Current Condition of SQUARE ................................................................................................. 3
3.3 Sister Concerns of SQUARE .................................................................................................... 3
3.4 Future Prospects and Goals ..................................................................................................... 4
3.5 Business Credentials ................................................................................................................. 4
4. Conclusion ........................................................................................................................................... 5
5. Work Cited ........................................................................................................................................... 5

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Executive Summary
A brand is a person’s gut feeling about a product, service or organization. We were assigned to
select two business or brands, one has to be a global brand and the other has to be a local
brand, and we had to prepare an interesting storyline about those companies. Here we chose
Alibaba and SQUARE group of companies. Alibaba is a globally recognized online based
business brand and SQUARE is one of the leading business brands in Bangladesh which has
expanded their working field in almost every sector of business.

Alibaba, a globally recognized online based business brand, enables businesses to transform
the way they market, sell and operate and improve their efficiencies. It has changed the idea of
online business in China and has given a new direction to the global online based business
corporations. It started its journey in 1999 by 18 people led by Jack Ma, a former English
teacher from Hangzhou, China. Now the company which started its journey with almost nothing
but a little investment is now worth about $40 billion creating endless opportunities for millions of
people and new businesses.

Coming to the SQUARE Group of companies. The story of SQUARE can somewhere relate to
the story of Alibaba. It also started its journey from a very small range but with the visionary
leadership and business strategy of its founder Samson H Chowdhury the company has
established itself as one of the leading business brand in Bangladesh. The company has
achieved many national and global accolades and now SQUARE is a symbol of trust to the
people of Bangladesh

In this report we, the group members, have assigned our utmost endeavor to represent the
interesting facts of the above mentioned two brands. We have talked about their emergence
story, current condition and future possibilities. With the information we collected from various
websites we tried to present and interesting storyline about Alibaba and SQUARE.

vi
 1. Introduction
First of all we want to define the term “Brand” from a different perception. A brand is not a logo,
not an identity, not a product as everybody thinks about it. What is exactly referred by the term
“brand”? A brand is a person’s gut feeling about a product, service or organization.

We were directed to select two brands, one has to be a global brand and the other has to be a
local brand, and we had to prepare an interesting storyline about those companies. As per the
direction we selected Alibaba and SQUARE Group to work on. We have collected necessary
information by visiting the official website, face book page of Alibaba and SQUARE Group. We
checked different media outlets to gather additional information.

2. Alibaba Group
Alibaba Group enables businesses to transform the way they market, sell and operate and
improve their efficiencies. They provide the technology infrastructure and marketing reach to
help merchants, brands and other businesses to leverage the power of new technology to
engage with their users and customers and operate in a more efficient way.

Their businesses are comprised of core commerce, cloud computing, digital media and
entertainment, and innovation initiatives. In addition, Ant Financial, an unconsolidated related
party, provides payment and financial services to consumers and merchants on our platforms. A
digital economy has developed around our platforms and businesses that consists of
consumers, merchants, brands, retailers, third-party service providers, strategic alliance
partners and other businesses.

2.1 Story of Emergence

Alibaba Group was established in 1999 by 18 people led by Jack Ma, a former English teacher
from Hangzhou, China. From the outset, the company’s founders shared a belief that the
Internet would level the playing field by enabling small enterprises to leverage innovation and
technology to grow and compete more effectively in the domestic and global economies.

today we’ll talk about a story. The story of the life of a man who has impacted the entire
economy and internet industry of China almost single-handedly. His life is nothing less than the

1
story of Robert, The Bruce and the Spider, that we were taught as kindergartens. That’s is the
story of Jack Ma. Jack failed to land a job after applying to them 30 times. When KFC came to
China, 24 people went for the job. Twenty-three people were accepted. He was the only guy
who wasn’t. After finally coming to terms with all of his rejections and failures, Jack Ma visited
US in 1995, for a Government undertaking project related to the building of highways. It was
then that Jack Ma was first introduced to the Internet and Computers. Computers were pretty
rare in China then, given the high costs associated with them and Internet or E-mails were non-
existent. The first word he searched on the Mosaic browser was ‘Beer’, and it popped out
results from different countries, but signs of China anywhere. He then searched ‘China’ and not
a single result popped out! He decided it was time for China and its people to get on the
Internet.

Finally, after persuading 17 of his other friends to invest and join him in his new e-commerce
startup – Alibaba, the company began from his apartment. Initially, Alibaba didn’t had a single
penny in investment from outside investors, but they later raised $20 Million from SoftBank and
another $5 Million from Goldman Sachs in 1999.

2.2 Present Condition of Alibaba Group

The net worth of Alibaba Group is about $40 billion. As of March 31, 2018, we served 552
million annual active consumers in China and another 90 million outside China. According to a
recent report by the Renmin University of China, Alibaba created 38 million jobs in 2018 via its
retail ecosystem, including 15 million jobs for online retailers and 23 million jobs for upstream
and downstream sectors such as R&D, design, manufacturing and logistics. The revenue of
Alibaba Group was US$9,873 million in 2018. Alibaba Group is more big business giant from
Face book and sells more products every year that Amazon and eBay sell combinely.

2.3 Future Possibilities

Alibaba intends to serve 2 billion consumers globally and help create 100 million jobs by
supporting 10 million businesses to operate profitably by year 2036. The Alibaba has changed
the economic condition of China within a short period of time and boosted up the global
economy. Their innovative business ideas will unveil new horizons for global online businesses.

2
 3. SQUARE Group
SQUARE Group of Companies, a leading corporate house in Bangladesh engaged in
manufacturing and marketing of pharmaceuticals, toiletries, consumer goods, textiles, spinning,
knitting, packaging, printing etc. Their Flagship Company SQUARE PHARMACEUTICALS LTD
has already achieved an ISO9001 certification and holding the top position among all national
and multinational pharmaceuticals companies in Bangladesh since 1985.

3.1 Background and History

SQUARE Pharma started in 1958 as a partnership firm. Samson H Chowdhury(The founder)
and his 3 friends, Dr. Kazi Harunur Rashid, Dr. PK Shaha and Radha Binod Roy, started
SQUARE Pharma as a partnership business with a total initial investment of Rs 17,000 in 1958.
Today, it has 14 different companies; each operating independently. From 1958 till these days,
the company has shown impeccable performance inside and outside the country. SQUARE
Pharmaceuticals has been the market leader in the pharmaceutical industry since 1985.

3.2 Current Condition of SQUARE

The net asset value of SQUARE was BDT 57,817 million in 2018. SQUARE Group is playing an
important role in national revenue. Their Contribution to National Exchequer was BDT 7,687
million in 2018. Currently SQUARE has created employment for about 30,000 people and has
improved their quality of living.

3.3 Sister Concerns of SQUARE

 SQUARE Pharmaceuticals Ltd.

SQUARE Pharmaceuticals Limited is the largest pharmaceutical company in Bangladesh and it

has been continuously in the 1st position among all national and multinational companies since
1985. It was established in 1958 and converted into a public limited company in 1991.

 SQUARE Textiles Ltd.

SQUARE first ventured into the textile sector with the establishment of the first unit of the
SQUARE Textiles Ltd. in 1997.

 SQUARE Food & Beverage Limited

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SQUARE Food & Beverage Limited started its operation as an individual company. Within a
very short span of time SCPL has drawn the attention of the consumers by providing quality
products and preferred services.

 SQUARE Securities Management Ltd.

SSML (SQUARE Securities Management Limited), a concern of leading industrial group

SQUARE having the Membership in Dhaka Stock Exchange Limited & Chittagong Stock
Exchange Limited is dealing with trust in the Capital Market since 1998.

 SQUARE Hospitals Ltd.

SQUARE Hospitals Ltd., a concern of SQUARE Group, is a 300 bed tertiary care hospital. The
hospital is an affiliate partner of Methodist Healthcare, Memphis, Tennessee, USA; Christian
Medical College-Vellore, India; and Care IVF (In-vitro fertility centre) Centre, Singapore.
SQUARE Hospitals' vision is to become the location of choice for Bangladeshis and people of
South and South East Asia for quality healthcare.

3.4 Future Prospects and Goals

Ensure strict compliance with WHO cGMP standards and local regulatory norms in every phase
of sourcing & procuring quality materials, manufacturing, quality assurance and delivery of
medicinesEnsure all activities through documented Quality Management System (QMS)
complying International Standard requirements of ISO 9001 through continuously Developing
Human Resources by regular training and participation. SQUARE is committed to undertake
appropriate review, evaluation and performance measurement of processes, business activities
and quality Management System for Continual improvement to ensure highest
standard, customer satisfactiondeveloping Human resource and company’s growth.

3.5 Business Credentials

 1985 & 1987– Achieved first position in the Pharmaceutical Market of Bangladesh
among all national and multinational companies.
 1997: Won the National Export trophy for exporting pharmaceuticals.
 1998:– Received ‘Business Executive of the Year’ award given by American Chamber of
Commerce in Bangladesh (AmCham)
 2004: SQUARE Pharmaceuticals Ltd was enlisted as UNICEF’s global supplier.
 2006 SQUARE Pharmaceuticals was given ‘ICAB National Award’ for best published
accounts and reports in Non – Financial Sector (Manufacturing Category).

4
  2017: In recognition of outstanding achievement in keeping healthy environment and
protecting environment from pollution, Kaliakoir facilities of SQUARE Pharmaceuticals
Ltd. has been awarded “National Environment Award-2017”.

4. Conclusion
Brands are important because not only is it what makes a memorable impression on consumers
but it allows your customers and clients to know what to expect from your company. It is a way
of distinguishing yourself from the competitors and clarifying what it is you offer that makes you
the better choice. We have worked on Alibaba and SQUARE which are two recognized brands
in their own fields. These two brands have very inspirational story to tell, the story of these two
brands teach us how and how much we can change the world by our innovative ideas, honesty
and perseverance. We can make a change in the ways of life of people by establishing a brand
such as Alibaba has changed the idea of online business and SQUARE has set new milestone
in chemical and pharmaceuticals sectors of Bangladesh and can write new stories how a brand
can influence the choices of people.

5. Work Cited
1. (www.alibaba.com)
2. (www.squaregroup.com)
3. (Facebook)
4. (YouTube)