Home
+
Published : 12 Mar 2025, 10:58 AM
Syed Manzur Elahi, a Bangladeshi industrialist and former advisor to the caretaker government, has died at the age of 83.
Elahi was the founder of Apex Group, one of the country’s largest industrial conglomerates, and the founding chairman of Mutual Trust Bank.
The bank’s Managing Director Syed Mahbubur Rahman told bdnews24.com that Elahi died at around 7:30am Bangladesh time on Wednesday while undergoing treatment at a hospital in Singapore.
He had been suffering from various complications related to old age for some time. His son, Apex Group Managing Director Syed Nasim Manzur, was by his side during his final days.
Mahbubur, "The necessary paperwork is being prepared now. If the process is completed, the body will be brought home by tonight. The funeral and burial arrangements will be arranged on Thursday. Nothing has been finalised yet."
Born in Kolkata, Elahi moved to Dhaka with his family after graduating with a Bachelor’s degree in economics from Calcutta University. After completing a Master's degree in economics from Dhaka University, he started his career as a senior executive at the then Pakistan Tobacco Company.
He married Niloufer Manzur in 1966.
After Bangladesh’s independence, Elahi quit his job and started working as a representative of a foreign company. In 1975, when the Orion Tannery in Dhaka’s Hazaribagh was put up for auction, he bought it and established Apex Tannery.
Currently, the Apex Group owns 11 companies, including Apex Tannery, Apex Footwear, Apex Pharma, Blue Ocean Footwear, Apex Enterprise, Apex Investment, and Gray Advertising Bangladesh.
The Apex Group also has a large investment in Mutual Trust Bank. The founding chairman was Elahi.
He served as the chairman of the board of trustees of East West University and also served as an advisor to the caretaker government in 1996 and 2001.
He was a former president of the Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce (MCCI) and the Bangladesh Employers Association.
Elahi was an administrator of the FBCCI, the apex trade organisation of businessmen and industrialists, during the caretaker government in 2007-08.
East West University says that funeral prayers for Elahi will be held at 10:30am on the East West University campus and after Zuhr prayers at the Gulshan Azad Mosque. Following the prayer services, Elahi will be laid to rest at the Banani Graveyard.
