Latifur Rahman’s fourth death anniversary today
Today, 1 July, marks the fourth death anniversary of Latifur Rahman, founding chairman of the Transcom Group, one of the leading business conglomerates of the country.
He breathed his last on this day in 2020 at his home in Chiora of Chauddagram upazila in Cumilla.
Latifur Rahman was known at home and abroad for his ethical business practices. He was a legendary figure for doing business with integrity and ethics. On 7 May 2012, Latifur Rahman was awarded the prestigious Oslo Business for Peace Award by the Norway-based Business for Peace Foundation, Oslo. He was awarded with this honour as a socially responsible and fair business leader in the sector. He received several national and international accolades as an honest and successful entrepreneur.
Latifur Rahman also played a pivotal role in establishing news media with independent editorial policy and founded the Bangla daily Prothom Alo and English daily The Daily Star.
Latifur Rahman was born in 1945. He started his education at the Saint Francis School in Dhaka. He was then admitted to the Saint Edmond's School in Shillong in 1956. Later, he passed the Senior Cambridge Exam from Saint Xavier’s College in Kolkata.
In 1966, he returned to Dhaka and joined the W Rahman Jute Mills Limited, owned by his family, as an executive. He entered the tea export business in 1972 by launching Tea Holdings Limited.
He founded the Transcom Group in 1987. The business group has several companies in various business sectors, including pharmaceuticals, electrical, electronics, media, soft drinks, tea and consumer goods. In 2017, Transcom Beverages Limited was awarded with the 'Global Bottler of the Year 2016' award by Pepsico.
Latifur Rahaman received the best taxpayer award for five consecutive times from 2016 to 2020 under the senior citizen category by the National Board of Revenue (NBR).
He was the president of the Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI), Dhaka. Apart from that, he also has served in various important posts of top business organisations Federation of Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) and International Chamber of Commerce (ICC).
Latifur Rahman’s grandson Faraaz Ayaaz Hossain also died on the same day in 2016 in the gruesome terrorist attack at Holey Artisan Café in Gulshan. Faraz is the son of Transcom Group’s chief executive officer (CEO) Simeen Rahman.