Latifur Rahman’s fifth death anniversary today
Today, 1 July, marks the fifth 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 village of Chauddagram upazila in Cumilla. He was born in 1945.
Latifur Rahman is an inspirational name in the country’s business sector. He was a renowned figure to all for his business integrity and ethics. In 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 has received several national and international accolades as an honest and successful entrepreneur.
Latifur Rahman’s role in establishing news media with independent editorial policy in Bangladesh is also widely acknowledged. He is the founder of most-read Bangla daily of the country, Prothom Alo, and English daily, The Daily Star.
Latifur Rahman started his education at the Saint Francis School in Dhaka. Then in 1956, he was admitted to the Saint Edmond’s School in Shillong. 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 in Chandpur, owned by his family, as an executive. He entered the tea export business in 1972 by launching Tea Holdings Limited.
Then 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 years 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 has also served in various vital positions of top business organisations including the Federation of Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) and the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) Bangladesh.
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.