National Board of Revenue (NBR) Chairman Abu Hena Md Rahmatul Muneem has urged Pran-RFL Group to invest more in heavy industries.  "It will not only enrich our economy but also create huge employment in the country," he said while visiting the industrial park of Pran-RFL in Habiganj Tuesday. Ahsan Khan Chowdhury, chairman and chief executive officer of Pran-RFL Group, welcomed the NBR chairman. Abu Hena visited various manufacturing units of the industrial park, including biscuit, juice and beverage, confectionery, liquid glucose, transformer and bicycle. He also inaugurated new plants of noodles and cables. Ahsan said: "Pran-RFL's Habiganj Industrial Park has changed the overall economy of the district. Around 25,000 people are working in the industrial park." Read more: German engineering delegation visits Pran-RFL Industrial Park

Pran has joined the Dhaka International Trade Fair (DITF) 2023 with 800 products at eight pavilions and stalls. This year, the group has brought around 200 new products to the fair. It is also offering discounts on all products. Pran is displaying more than 500 products at its three-storey pavilion.  

Pran-RFL Group has received the Bangladesh Business Awards 2021 for its contribution to the business sector. Planning Minister MA Mannan handed over the award to Pran-RFL Chair and Chief Executive Officer Ahsan Khan Chowdhury at a Dhaka hotel Friday. Read: PRAN-RFL targets $2 billion export by 2030 This year, one entrepreneur and two enterprises won the Bangladesh Business Awards for making significant progress in their respective areas in 2021. Pran-RFL received the award in the enterprise of the year category. DHL Express and The Daily Star introduced the Bangladesh Business Awards in 2000 to inspire and motivate the business fraternity to achieve greater heights of productivity. Read Bangladesh's Nuzhat Choudhury wins Outstanding Service in Prevention of Blindness Award

PRAN Dairy Limited and US-based international organization ACDI/VOCA have signed an agreement to strengthen dairy development in the Southern part of the country.  The deal was signed to help the dairy sector in the Southern districts under the USAID-funded ‘Feed the Future Bangladesh Nutrition program’ run by ACDI/VOCA.  PRAN Group Managing Director Eleash Mridha and Chief of Party of the project Muhammad Nurul Amin Siddiquee signed the deal at PRAN Dairy's head office in the capital on Thursday, the company said in a statement.   Read: PRAN-RFL targets $2 billion export by 2030 It said PRAN Dairy will work on a variety of activities under the agreement including assisting farmers to increase milk production and milk procurement, providing dairy producers with farm management training, supplying milk in the formal market and promoting safe milk production and consumption in Southern Bangladesh.   The activities will be conducted in several districts including Jashore, Khulna, Kushtia, Narail, Satkhira, Faridpur, Barishal, Pirojpur and Jhalakathi.   ACDI/VOCA will help PRAN Dairy through financing and guidelines.    Read Upay, Pran-RFL sign agreement on salary disbursement, merchant payment

Mobile financial services provider upay Thursday signed an agreement with business conglomerate Pran-RFL Group to make salary disbursement and merchant payment easier. Also, the upay customers will be able to make payments while buying products from more than 1,800 outlets of Pran-RFL Group's Best Buy, Vision Electronics, Walker, Tasty Treat, Mithai, Daily Shopping, Regal Furniture, and Othoba.com. "We are very happy that Pran-RFL Group has chosen upay to disburse the salary of their factory employees and accept payments at the retail outlets of various brands owned by the group," said Rezaul Hossain, managing director and CEO of upay. Read Pathao Courier to get upay cash collection solutions Uzma Chowdhury, chief financial officer of Pran-RFL, said: "We have chosen upay as they have some unique features which will be beneficial to our employees. After receiving salary in their upay salary wallet, Pran-RFL employees can cash out the money from upay points at a reduced rate. Upay account has a unique multi-wallet feature which includes a primary wallet, salary wallet, remittance wallet, and disbursement wallet.  Also read: upay signs deal with Titas Gas to facilitate prepaid bill payment Upay, a subsidiary of United Commercial Bank, was launched in March 2021.

Habiganj Agro Limited and Sylvan Technologies Limited, sister concerns of PRAN Group, received the ‘National Productivity and Quality Excellence Award-2020’ for enhancing productivity and manufacturing quality products.  Industries Minister Nurul Majid Mahmud Humayun handed over the awards at a programme held at Hotel Sonargaon in the capital on Sunday.  Eleash Mridha, managing director of PRAN Group received the award on behalf of Habiganj Agro while Mostafizur Rahman, chief operating officer at Sylvan Technologies received the award on behalf of the company, said a media release.  Also Read: Pran-RFL bags 5 national export trophies Among the awards, Habiganj Agro Ltd got the second award for the food industry sector in the large industrial category while Sylvan Technologies Ltd received the first prize for the steel and engineering sector in the medium industry category.  In his remarks, Eleash Mridha said, “We are working to boost productivity and quality of our products. This recognition will inspire us to do more.”    State Minister for Industries Kamal Ahmed Majumder and Senior Vice President of FBCCI Mostafa Azad Chowdhury Babu attended the ceremony as the special guests while Industries secretary Zakia Sultana presided over the function. Read Manufacturing of products: Procter & Gamble joins PRAN Group

Pran is set to collect 65,000 tonnes of mangoes this year to manufacture drinks, juices and other food items which are exported to some 145 countries. The agro-processor started collecting and pulping mangoes in its plants in Natore and Rajshahi Thursday. Sarowar Hossain, general manager of Barind Industrial Park in Rajshahi, said: "We are collecting mangoes from Rajshahi, Natore, Chapai Nawabganj, Naogaon, Dinajpur, Meherpur and Satkhira. In the first phase, we will buy the Guti variety. After that, we will collect the Ashwani variety." Read: Serbia keen to invest in food storage industry in Bangladesh: FBCCI Kamruzzaman Kamal, marketing director of Pran-RFL Group, said, "We collected more than 40,000 metric tonnes of mangoes last year." "Pulp is being produced in our plants following aseptic technology. It helps preserve the pulps for two years while maintaining their taste and freshness without freezing. We are manufacturing mango juices and drinks throughout the year from these pulps." Read: Govt mulls amnesty to bring back laundered money: Finance Minister  

Pran-RFL Group has bagged national export trophies for the 17th consecutive year in recognition of its role in raising shipment in the agro-processing, plastic goods and light engineering products categories. Five companies of the group won awards for the fiscal year 2017-18. Pran Dairy, Pran Agro, and Habiganj Agro obtained the gold, silver and bronze trophies in the agro-processing category. Read 10 Pran-RFL companies get productivity award Allplast Bangladesh of RFL got the silver trophy in the plastic goods category, and Rangpur Metal Industries obtained the silver trophy in light engineering. Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi handed over the trophies to Eleash Mridha, managing director of Pran Group, Naser Ahmed, executive director of Pran Agro, Animesh Saha, executive director of Habiganj Agro, Sayed Hossain Chowdhury, executive director of Allplast Bangladesh, and Sayed Joynul Abedin, executive director of Rangpur Metal, at a city hotel Thursday. Pran started exporting agro-based products in 1997, and now, the group ships a wide range of products to 145 countries. Read 4 Pran-RFL companies get 'Green Factory Award' Pran-RFL has a big market in India and the Middle East, and the group's products are now available in Africa, Europe, and North and South America.

Agricultural Marketing Company, a sister concern of Pran, has received the Institute of Cost and Management Accountants of Bangladesh (ICMAB) Best Corporate Award 2020. Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi handed over the award to Choudhury Atiur Rasul, director (accounts) of Pran-RFL Group, at a ceremony in the capital Thursday. Read Pran-RFL bags 5 national export trophies Professor Shibli Rubayat Ul Islam, chairman of the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission, Kazi Akram Uddin Ahmed, chairman of Standard Bank and former president of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry, AKM Delwer Hussain, president of the South Asian Federation of Accountants, were also present.

Pran-RFL Group has launched the campaign "Ahar Hobe Shobar Ghore'' under the "Pashe Asi Bangladesh'' initiative for lower and middle-income people. "Pashe Asi Bangladesh" is the CSR initiative of Pran-RFL – aimed to help the low-income people affected by calamities and crises. Under the initiative, the group started distributing emergency food and protective items to low-income groups and hospitals when Covid-19 unfolded in the country in March last year. READ: Pran Drinking Water gives food to the needy in Ramadan "Many people around us were self-sufficient, but they have now become helpless due to Covid. They need food assistance but do not seek out help when they need it. We urge them not to hesitate to dial our number to get food aid. We will maintain confidentiality," Pran Managing Director Eleash Mridha said at a press conference in the capital Thursday. Uzma Chowdhury, director of corporate finance at Pran-RFL Group, said: "We already distributed food support to more than 1 lakh people who became workless due to the pandemic under the CSR program 'Pashe Asi Bangladesh.' Now we aim to support lower and middle-income people with food assistance." READ: Pran Agro issues 1st internationally guaranteed bond in Bangladesh "The food item includes Pran rice, dal, oil, salt, puffed rice, toast and noodles. People will be able to get the support through email [email protected] along with dialling 02222281792. They can also seek out help through our social media pages, including Facebook," Nurul Afser, head of Corporate Brand at Pran-RFL, said.