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A beacon of Bangladesh’s business world departs but his legacy lives on

Symbol of excellence, trendsetter, role model
Businessmen, entrepreneurs, industrialists recalled the work of Latifur Rahman, who died yesterday
Refayet Ullah Mirdha
He did not stop just by reaching the pinnacle of businesses in Bangladesh through unparalleled dedication, hard-work and extraordinary ethics that brought him adulation at home and from abroad; rather Latifur Rahman went on to mentor and inspire a generation of entrepreneurs throughout his life as he led by example.
He died yesterday at the age of 75, leaving an army of businessmen, industrialists and entrepreneurs with teary eyes.
“He was a man of principles. He never compromised with the principles. He was a successful businessman,” summed up Tapan Chowdhury, managing director of Square Pharmaceuticals Ltd.
“He was a towering figure in our corporate world.”
Rahman had been almost a family member to Chowdhury and a friend of his father, Samson H Chowdhury, one of the most successful entrepreneurs in Bangladesh.
“I have a lot of good memories as I also worked with him in different capacities, both as a businessman and as a former president of the Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI).”
Both Rahman and Chowdhury are former president of the MCCI.
“He was very transparent in his businesses,” Chowdhury said. “We lost an iconic figure in our business world. He is well-known internationally and has set new trends in businesses.”
Like Chowdhury many business chambers, trade bodies and individual business personalities have mourned the sudden demise of Rahman as he is recalled for his extraordinary personality, for touching the hearts of thousands of successful businessmen and for his good deeds.
After the independence of the country in 1971, very few businesses could thrive following ethics, but Rahman could establish his business conglomerate Transcom Group. He set up companies from media to tea, pharmaceuticals and electronics, to name a few.
He was a pundit in international trade and spoke for easing business terms, the business community said.
Sohel Parvez
What makes an entrepreneur unique from thousands of others?
The list of answers could be long and be vary from person to person in today’s business world.
But if you ask anyone looking for a job or an employee about the quality of an employer, she or he is most likely to give a simple answer: an employer, who provides a healthy working environment, values skills, respects and promotes integrity; and keeps employees ensured that they will get their salaries and other benefits regularly.
And this is what Latifur Rahman, who steered and built an empire of diversified businesses from lightings, food to medicine, believed in: happy employees and their families.
In a conversation with two journalists of this newspaper, he shared the view responding to the question of why Transcom is not so visible in corporate social responsibility spending.
In a country where the issue of job and salary security has been a major concern for job seekers and jobholders, Transcom Group, employer of nearly 17,000 persons, stands tall thanks to Rahman.
He used to introduce employees of Transcom as his colleague.
The light bearer left for eternity yesterday at the age of 75.
But his legacy remains firm and solid in the landscape of entrepreneurship development and ethical business, and the growth story of Bangladesh.
“He had been a great person and an excellent. We worked together in the chamber. He had great vision. We lost a very good leader,” said a sad Anis Ud Dowla, chairman of ACI Group.
For him, Rahman did a clean business and he had been transparent. He was the choicest entrepreneurs in Bangladesh for foreign investments.
“His reputation was good and the image was good and what a fantastic empire he has built up,” said Dowla citing Rahman’s legacy in the printing industry, lighting and electronics.
“All these things are his creation. I am really devastated by this loss. He had an international outlook. He was very sophisticated and clean. We have a lost great leader. We have lost a fine gentleman,” Dowla added.
Taking the steering of business after the independence of the nation, Rahman gradually took Transcom to a diversified arena by adhering to ethical and responsible business.
Today, Transcom has 16 operational entities from medicine, foods, lighting, electronics to media. It is the local business partner of international brands Pizza Hut, KFC, PepsiCo and Philips.
Having an annual turnover of Tk 7,500 crore, Transcom Group is one of the highest of corporate tax and VAT payers in Bangladesh.
And because of its ethical business practices, several companies of Transcom Group were also recognised by the revenue authority by tax card as top taxpayers.
Mediaworld, Mediaster and Transcraft -- the three owning companies of The Daily Star, Prothom Alo, their printer Transcraft -- were recognised as the top taxpayers in the media category for the fourth straight year in fiscal 2018-19.
And Rahman was recognised by the National Board of Revenue (NBR) as one of the top taxpayers in fiscal 2015-16. He again made the list of top taxpayers in Dhaka city.
Globally, he was awarded by Oslo-based Business for Peace Award in 2012 as a mark of his highest distinction for outstanding accomplishments in the area of ethical business -- a rare quality in a country where unethical practices, tax and VAT evasion, loan scams, substandard product selling -- are rampant.
Anis A Khan, former chairman of the Association of Bankers Bangladesh (ABB), attested to that.
“His dealing with the banks were perfect. There was no default- absolutely no default. He met his obligations to his banks as and when they became due.”
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