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Cover Focus
KEEPING
IT SIMPLE
In a conversation, M Habibul Basit, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at Shanta
Holdings Ltd., discusses his journey, the importance of the real estate sector in
Bangladesh's economy and how Shanta is evolving to redefine the benchmark
for high-end real estate in the country
Can you tell us about your 6-year long
journey with Shanta Holdings?
My journey with Shanta since late 2015
started with a lot of learning and
understanding of the industry. Prior to
joining Shanta, I had very little
understanding of the real estate sector but I
knew this industry has enormous potential to
grow.
Being new to the industry, I had the unique
opportunity to bring in a fresh perspective to
the table. People and culture are critical in
transforming a company into a great one -
this is one area where we focused at the very
beginning and still passionately drive many
initiatives around that. We identified and
acted upon scopes of improvement in the
people and culture aspect of the company. It
included introducing new ideas and best
practices that facilitated the growth and
development of the team - both individually
and collectively. I am happy to share that the
team had the right mindset and took up the
challenge. Simultaneously, we focused on
creating a vision for the company and then
collectively worked towards creating a
strategy and action plan aligned with the
vision. This set a clear goal in mind and
provided direction to all.
During those initial years, we prioritized the
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December 2021
required changes in the standard operating
procedure (SOP), altered the methodologies and
introduced a customized performance
monitoring tool. In addition, strict COVID-19
protocols were enforced for the safety of people
and the workplace. These initiatives proved to
be very effective and we are happy to share, in
spite of working remotely during this crisis
situation, we did not lose much in terms of our
deliverables and all the major objectives were
achieved.
Would you please elaborate on the
government policy support that enabled
the rapid sale of ready-made flats?
The real estate sector has been a significant
contributor to our economy. Our government is
well aware of the importance of ensuring the
industry's sustainable growth and has taken
the necessary steps to support it over the
years. The government is now allowing
investment of untaxed money, lowering the
interest rates, and reducing registration fees
are the core factors behind the rise of the
demand. The policy support paired with a
quick recovery of the economy helped the real
estate sector bounce back strongly from the
transformation of the company and worked around our people, effects of a global pandemic and its economic
structure and process to ensure an achievement-oriented fallout.
culture. Performance came as a direct result of that. We also
focused on formulating a realistic company business plan for Can you elaborate on the evolution of
each year which helped to provide a set of clear objectives, a customer demand? What is encouraging
line of sight and role clarity to all concerned in the team. buying rather than renting? Also tell us
Through these initiatives we have ensured a shared and about the economic trends spearheading
aligned vision for the company where every member had investment in the real estate sector.
something to contribute. All these activities helped us to With increasing digitisation, the issue of
enhance our capability and efficiency which resulted in asymmetric information is slowly disappearing
providing consistent business growth year on year in this from our society and has impacted how people
period. imagine their living spaces. A home is not just
a living area now, but a statement of prestige.
Shanta Holdings is known for driving a performance Consumers aspire for amenities like a
culture. How did this passion help Shanta Holdings to swimming pool, gym, playing ground for kids
overcome the challenges of the pandemic? and a party space besides a well-designed
We believe a performance-driven culture is at the core of any apartment that they see around the world.
successful business. We are fortunate to have a team who are In recent years it has become easier for the
open to new ideas and challenges and work passionately customers to access the financial assistance
towards success. Our performance is driven by the culture we required for property purchase. The financial
live by - a culture that stands on 6 core values - Excellence, institutions are offering loans at competitive
Innovation, Commitment, Quality, Customer Satisfaction and rates and terms. In addition, the strong
Valuing People. These values are embedded in Shanta’s DNA economic performance over the past few years
and drive the team towards setting standards. in general has enabled people to have higher
After the initial shock of COVID-19, we regrouped and adapted disposable income, thus, allowing people a
to the new normal scenario. Our primary concern was the better opportunity for opting to buy rather than
health and safety of all our people. This called for formulating renting a property.
a new work module which enabled the team to work Consumers today are also looking at real estate
uninterrupted from the safety of their homes but at the same as an investment opportunity. An apartment in
time getting the job done. To complement this, we brought the a good neighborhood is a very safe investment
compared to other financial instruments as it ensures a higher
and more sustainable return on investment. This also helped to
boost the sales of apartments.
Share some details regarding Shanta Holdings ongoing
projects – what can customers expect from the real
estate innovator?
pipeline. FORUM – the first 24 storied twin towers are nearing
We have a range of residential and commercial projects in the
completion and will set a new benchmark for commercial
development in the country once it opens doors next year.
PINNACLE - the city’s first 40 storied skyscraper is under
construction and currently in the substructure stage. These
projects will house shared amenities such as retail outlets,
cafes, a rooftop restaurant, gym, business center and more for
the convenience of tenants, hence further cementing Tejgaon as
the ultimate commercial hub of the city. We hope these iconic
developments will also stand as architectural landmarks for
Dhaka. In residential, we have
a portfolio of projects around
the city, particularly, a few
park-side projects in North
Gulshan in our Platinum, i.e.
ultra-luxury category -
OLYMPUS on road 62, AURA
on road 83, and ZEPHYR on
road 100/103. Each of these
projects, located in
super-prime locations, will
offer residents unobstructed
panoramic park views; a rare
opportunity in our
ever-bustling city. Moreover,
each project will house
state-of-the art lifestyle
amenities such as heated
swimming pools with
beautifully landscaped decks,
fully equipped gyms, stylishly
appointed and fully furnished
party rooms, bbq zones and
more, complemented with sophisticated interior designs, thus,
creating an ambience of true luxury and comfort for our
residents, which their lifestyles demand.
Young homeowners seek convenience, invention, and
sustainability – how is Shanta Holdings incorporating
these factors into their home designs? Could you
elaborate on the facility management module
available to consumers and what they can expect?
Sustainability is indeed a crucial element of modern living. We
realize the need for biophilic architecture,
environmental-friendly and sustainable development and have
been working towards that journey. Our projects have
professionally designed landscaping; from lush green lawns to
beautiful planters at terraces, soothing water features to
rooftop gardens and barbeque zones to children’s play areas.
We strive to feature nature and its elements in our projects in
this manner as well as maximize natural light and ventilation,
which are always prioritized at the design stage. Our designs
are user-oriented. We take an outside-in approach to ensure
that users' comfort, safety and functional living remain the
priority. As COVID-19 has re-taught us the importance of the
outdoors, we are now even more so focused on ensuring our
projects encompass the notion of biophilic design and create
even better outdoor functions which allow our users to enjoy
nature to the utmost. The use of natural and local materials to
reduce our carbon footprint, low-e double-glazed windows to
reduce heat gain, and low-consumption fittings to minimize
water usage are always our preference.
We have a strong Facility Management Services (FMS) wing,
which manages all our projects for a minimum of 5 years
post-handover. A professional team of building managers
are upheld to the highest standard. There are specific
ensure that security, cleaning and maintenance of our projects
guidelines for cleaning and maintaining certain materials like
natural stones, landscaping, and more importantly, the
expensive electromechanical equipment of projects such as
elevators, substations and generators which are commonly
ignored but are imperative to the safety and longevity of the
buildings. We ensure those key aspects are well maintained
and monitored to ensure our properties retain their value for How is Shantas’ CSR initiative - Centre
our clients. Clients can also choose to submit maintenance Woman and Child Health (CWCH)
requests, book amenities and pay their bills through our online supporting the community?
FMS portal, which is an added convenience. Our teams are well As a part of CSR, Shanta started it’s n
trained in fire-fighting and emergency response in case the profit healthcare facility - Centre for W
need arises. We can proudly say our commercial projects house and Child Health (CWCH) in 2004 in Ashu
a footprint of offices of renowned local and multinational CWCH has been serving mostly women and
corporations, which is a testament to not just our design and children, especially the low paid worke
construction quality, but also to our safety and facility readymade garments industry and
management standards. Another example is that since the underprivileged poor women and children.
onset of the pandemic, the initiatives by our FMS team to center offers free diagnosis, treatment,
strictly ensure the required health and sanitation protocols has medicine for the ultra-poor.
ensured zero outbreaks in any of our projects, by the grace of Presently, CWCH operates with 100 inpa
the Almighty. beds. In addition, it also has 18 beds fo
emergency services. CWCH treats over 600
Give us a snippet of the upcoming projects in the outpatients every day. The expansion of t
pipeline – what’s in store? hospital building is near completion. The
We have many residential and commercial projects in the 7-storied main hospital building with a t
pipeline. We are going to launch the first true gated community floor area of about 250,000 sq. ft. w
in adjacent areas of Mirpur DOHS consisting of 400+ operations with 250 inpatient beds from e
apartment units with all the modern amenities like jogging 2022. The center offers services in the
trail, fully equipped gym, swimming pool, central courtyard, obstetrics and gynecology, pediatric, me
curated space for indoor and outdoor games, prayer space and cardiology, diabetes and endocrinology,
many more. Apart from these, many more residential properties orthopedic, ENT, eye, dental, physiothe
are in the pipeline in the most lucrative locations of Dhaka like dermatology and child development.
Baridhara, Guslahn, Banani, Dhanmondi etc. In terms of has well equipped operating theaters,
commercial, the city is going to witness a few large-scale, diagnostic laboratory, radiology and imag
international-standard commercial buildings in the near future. and pharmacy. It also offers various
We are actively working to build some true world class vaccination programs for free. Presently,
commercial towers that are going to attract the best business professionals and staff are engaged in
houses and eventually redefine the city skyline. Altogether, center. We also have a plan to go for a
more than 8 million sq. ft. of development is in the pipeline college in the coming years to expand o
and counting. support to the community.