Apex Group chairman Syed Manzur Elahi no more

Noted businessperson, chairman of Apex Group and adviser to a former caretaker government Syed Manzur Elahi has passed away.

He was 79.

Syed Manzur Elahi breathed his last while undergoing medical treatment at a Singapore hospital at 9:31 am local time (7:31 am Bangladesh time) today, Wednesday.

He was suffering from various old age complications.

Syed Nasim Manzur, son of Syed Manzur Elahi, confirmed the news to Prothom Alo from Singapore.

Nasim Manzur further said his sister and he were by the bed of his father until the last moment.

They have been trying to bring his body back home today, he added.

Syed Manzur Elahi left his job at a multinational company and started his footwear business. He was the first trader to export Bangladeshi shoes abroad.

Alongside the export business, his company Apex is one of the top footwear companies in Bangladesh.

Syed Manzur Elahi opened his company Manzur Industries in 1972. Four years later, he bought state-owned Orient Tannery and renamed it Apex Tannery in 1976.

Fourteen years later, he started Apex Footwear, which is the top shoe export company of Bangladesh.