PRAN-RFL Group

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This article is about the brand. For other uses, see Pran (disambiguation).
PRAN-RFL Group
Company typePublic
DSE: (PRAN)

CSE: (PRAN)
DSE: (RFL)

CSE: (RFL)
IndustryConsumer goods
Founded1 January 1981; 44 years ago (1981-01-01)
FounderAmjad Khan Chowdhury
HeadquartersDhaka, Bangladesh
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
Ahsan Khan Chowdhury (Chairperson)
Eleash Mridha (Managing Director)
Mohammad Yeamin (Chief financial officer)
Products
List
Brands
List
    • Pran Foods Ltd.
    • RFL Plastics
    • Vision Electronics
    • Jhatpat frozen food
    • Bisk Club Biscuits
    • All Time Bakery
    • Wonder Bakery
    • Pran Beverages
    • Pran Dairy Products
    • WINNER Electronics
    • SHINE Bathroom Fittings
    • CLICK Cables
    • DURANTA Bicycles
    • Regal Furnitures
RevenueIncrease ৳4.69 billion (US$39 million)
(FY 2022)[1][2]
Increase ৳359.72 million (US$3.0 million)
(FY 2022)[1]
Increase ৳83 million (US$680,000)
(FY 2022)[1]
Total assetsIncrease ৳1.92 billion (US$16 million)
(FY 2022)[1]
Total equityIncrease ৳998.87 million (US$8.2 million)
(FY 2022)[1]
Number of employees
10,757 (2022)
Website

PRAN-RFL Group (Bengali: প্রাণ-আরএফএল গ্রুপ) is a Bangladeshi conglomerate,[3] founded in 1981 by Amjad Khan Chowdhury. It is one of the largest conglomerates in Bangladesh[4] Pran-RFL Group is headquartered in Dhaka, Bangladesh, and employs over 1,00,000 people worldwide making it the largest employer brand in the country. The group operates under several subsidiaries, including Pran Foods, RFL Plastics, Pran-RFL Healthcare, and many others.[5]

Pran Foods is the flagship company of the group and RFL is the subsidiary company mostly consisting of plastic and steel products.

History

[edit]

PRAN (Programme for Rural Advancement Nationally)[6] was established in 1981 by retired Major General Amjad Khan Chowdhury and has become one of the largest food and beverage brands in Bangladesh.[7][8] PRAN pioneered agribusiness in Bangladesh by providing farmers with guaranteed prices.[9] PRAN Foods, a subsidiary of the PRAN-RFL Group,[10] produces a number of agricultural products under the PRAN banner. PRAN established a subsidiary company in UAE in 2003.[11]

In 2008, the company announced plans to open a production facility in Tripura, India, after the Indian government lifted the ban on direct investment from Bangladesh in 2007.[12] The PRAN group's exports had reached 10 billion taka by 2016, with the biggest markets for the company in India, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Malaysia, and Oman.[13] The same year the revenue for PRAN exceeded US$500 million.[14] PRAN started exporting potatoes in March 2016.[15]

In April 2016, PRAN started to export cassava and the first shipment, worth US$3 million, was sent to New Zealand.[16] PRAN has 80 thousand direct employees and 200 thousand indirect employees.[17] PRAN exports to over 118 countries.[18]

PRAN started exporting through river route to India from Bangladesh in March 2021.[19]

Pran-RFL Group has several joint ventures with international companies, such as PepsiCo, Danone, and Nestlé.

Businesses

[edit]

PRAN-RFL Group contains two Groups, called PRAN-Group & RFL-Group.

Businesses operating under these groups contains several registered companies/businesses. Below are some of them-[20]

Registered Business & Sister Concerns of PRAN-RFL Group
PRAN Group RFL Group Other sister concerns
Agricultural Marketing Co. Ltd Rangpur Foundry Limited Property Development Limited
Mymensingh Agro Limited Gonga Foundry Limited AKC (Pvt.) Limited
Banga Bakers Limited RFL Plastics Limited AKC Management Limited
Natore Agro Limited Durable Plastic Limited Logi-Care Overseas Limited
Natore Dairy Limited Banga Plastic International Limited Career Builders Limited
PRAN Agro Limited Rangpur Metal Industries Limited Banga Trading House Limited
PRAN Agro farm Business Limited Banga Building Materials Limited Tasty Treat
PRAN Beverage Limited Trade Environment Limited RFL Door
PRAN Confectionery Limited Allplast Bangladesh Limited
PRAN Dairy Limited RFL Electronics Limited
PRAN Foods Limited Getwell Limited[21]
Banga Miller Limited Bangladesh Lift Industries Limited
Banga Agro Processing Limited RFL Construction Limited
Advance Personal Care Limited Multi -Line Industries Limited
Chorka Fashions Limited Accessories World Limited
Chorka Textile Limited Habiganj Ceramics Limited
Habiganj Agro Limited Habiganj Glassware Limited
Habiganj Textile Limited Habiganj Metal Industries Limited
Packmat Industries Limited RFL Exports Limited
Vision Electronics[22]
Sun Basic Chemicals Limited
Sylvan Technologies Limited Sera Water Tank
Sylvan Poultry Limited Shine Tiles[23]
PRAN Exports Limited CLICK Light
Duranta Bicycle[24]
Bizli Cables[25]
Rainbow Paints[26]
Saudi Lubricants
Jagonews24.com[27]

Duranta

[edit]

Duranta a part of the group makes bicycles for the international and domestic market. They launched the countries first ebike.[28] The venture started in 2015.[29]

Proton

[edit]

Proton Mobile is the brand for the group's manufactured and marketed feature phones and smartphones.[30]

Othoba

[edit]

Othoba is the companies e-commerce expansion offering discounted pricing on live animal and goods with home delivery or pickup option.[31][32]

Criticism

[edit]

The company is accused of land grabbing, revenue evasion, fake tender of 305 crore Taka in the name of Rangpur Metal Industries and selling substandard consumer goods.[33][34] There are also allegations of digital corruption and looting of thousands of crores of taka with the illegal assistance of officials from the Public Works Department.[35][36] In 2019, a Bangladesh court ordered the arrest of the company's managing director after BSTI tests found excess ash in turmeric powder produced by Pran Agro Limited.[37] The Bangladesh High Court issued a rule asking why the family of an employee of the company should not be compensated for the death of the employee in 2018.[38] The Pran-RFL company of Alipur, Habiganj, has been accused of dumping banned and harmful contaminated waste into the Sutang River, the only river in Lakhai Upazila of Habiganj district, for a long time.[39] In July 2025, the local administration seized 2,500 liters of adulterated milk from the Pran Company's hub center in Chatmohar Upazila of Pabna, and a mobile court sentenced three Pran officials to six months in prison each for storing and supplying adulterated milk.[40] In front of the National Press Club, some employees of PRAN-RFL accused the company of religiously hateful activities against Muslim employees. These are - 1. Holding online meetings during prayer times. If they could not attend the meetings, they would be taken to a separate phone conference with senior officials, abused in foul language, and referred to as a camp. 2. Making employees work full duty despite the holidays of Shab-e-Qadr and Shab-e-Barat. 3. Increasing the pressure of extra work during the month of Ramadan. 4. Holding meetings online on Google Meet during Tarawih prayers, indirectly preventing everyone from praying. 5. Not giving any time separately for Iftar. 6. Making many excuses and harassing them about Eid ul Fitr and Eid ul Azha holidays. One victim said that PRAN-RFL Group provides special benefits to a definite community in getting jobs and while working. When these were protested, the protesters used to be quickly fired.[41]

A group of 101 Bangladeshi Islamic scholars in Bangladesh called for a boycott of Pran RFL products, accusing it of funding Ahmadis, and claiming it as anti-Islamic.[42] In 2021, International Majlis-e Tahaffuz-e-Khatm-e Nobuwat Bangladesh called for a boycott of PRAN-RFL and all their products at all levels, personal, social, and state.[43]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d e "Annual Results 2022". WSJ. Retrieved 11 March 2023.
  2. ^ "Annual Results 2022". WSJ. Retrieved 11 March 2023.
  3. ^ Khaled, Kowsher Jahan (24 January 2008). "Pran to build first foreign plant in India". The Daily Star. Retrieved 10 March 2023.
  4. ^ Chakma, Jagaran (16 January 2023). "Pran-RFL to invest $22.5m in four sectors". The Daily Star. Retrieved 10 March 2023.
  5. ^ "Global Footprint". PRAN Foods Ltd. 16 April 2017. Retrieved 10 March 2023.
  6. ^ "First Bangladeshi food processing unit in India". Business Standard. India. 4 June 2015. Retrieved 31 March 2017.
  7. ^ "Amjad Khan's death anniv observed". Prothom Alo. Archived from the original on 5 February 2017. Retrieved 31 March 2017.
  8. ^ Bilkis, Shahana (12 March 2014). "Bangladeshi agro-processed food has good prospect abroad". The Financial Express. Dhaka.
  9. ^ Sobhan, Rehman (4 October 2010). Challenging the Injustice of Poverty: Agendas for Inclusive Development in South Asia. SAGE Publications. p. 111. ISBN 9788132104681.
  10. ^ "GDCL to arrange Tk 1b fund for Pran thru Islamic Bond issue". The Daily Observer. Retrieved 31 March 2017.
  11. ^ Basit, Abdul. "Pran Foods expects 60% sales growth in 2014". Khaleej Times. Retrieved 31 March 2017.
  12. ^ "Pran to build first foreign plant in India". The Daily Star. 24 January 2008. Retrieved 31 March 2017.
  13. ^ "PRAN-RFL fetches over Tk 1,000cr from export". Daily Sun. Retrieved 31 March 2017.
  14. ^ Mitra, Sounak (10 February 2016). "If Shan doesn't get you, PRAN will". Mint. Retrieved 1 April 2017.
  15. ^ "PRAN starts potato export". The Daily Star. 11 March 2016. Retrieved 31 March 2017.
  16. ^ "PRAN to export $3m of cassava to New Zealand". The Daily Star. 12 April 2016. Retrieved 31 March 2017.
  17. ^ "In memory of the man who built Pran". The Daily Star. 5 July 2016. Retrieved 31 March 2017.
  18. ^ "PRAN aims at poverty cut, employs over 10 lakh workers". Daily Sun. Retrieved 1 April 2017.
  19. ^ "Pran-RFL commences food export to India thru river route". New Age. Retrieved 20 March 2021.
  20. ^ "All Brand | RFL Group". rflbd.com. Retrieved 14 September 2022.
  21. ^ "Get Well | Feel Safe & Sound". Retrieved 14 September 2022.
  22. ^ "VISION Electronics: Buy LED TV, Refrigerator, AC, Fan Online". vision.com.bd. Retrieved 25 February 2025.
  23. ^ "Leading Sanitary Ware & Fittings Brand in Bangladesh". shinesanitaryware.com. Retrieved 25 February 2025.
  24. ^ "Duranta Bicycle price in Bangladesh 2023 | Duronto bicycle". rfleshop.com. Retrieved 25 February 2025.
  25. ^ "Cable Company in Bangladesh: Buy Cable Online at Best Prices". bizli.com.bd. Retrieved 25 February 2025.
  26. ^ "Rainbow Paints". rainbowpaintsbd.com. Retrieved 25 February 2025.
  27. ^ [jagonews24.com "Jagonews24"]. jagonews24.com (in Bengali). Retrieved 2 December 2025. {{cite news}}: Check |url= value (help)
  28. ^ "First Bangladeshi e-bike launched, to head to Germany within a week". The Business Standard. 8 February 2024. Retrieved 2 April 2025.
  29. ^ Khatun, Fahmida; Sadat, Syed Yusuf; Mahbub, Afrin (24 April 2024). "Bicycle Industry in Bangladesh - An Analysis of the Value Chain, Policy Brief 2024(2)" (PDF). Centre for Policy Dialogue.
  30. ^ "Pran-RFL's smartphone coming soon". Dhaka Tribune. Retrieved 2 April 2025.
  31. ^ "Food and protective items now available at 'Best Buy'". The Business Standard. 3 May 2020. Retrieved 11 December 2025.
  32. ^ "'Othoba.com' launches online cattle market". The Business Standard. 12 July 2020. Retrieved 11 December 2025.
  33. ^ "প্রাণ-আরএফএল বহাল তবিয়তে". Jugantor (in Bengali). 12 October 2018. Retrieved 2 December 2025.
  34. ^ জোবায়ের, তাকী মোহাম্মদ (4 December 2025). "প্রাণ-আরএফএলের ভুয়া দরপত্রের সাম্রাজ্য". The Daily Times Of Bangladesh. Retrieved 4 December 2025.
  35. ^ Desh, Ajker (8 October 2025). "প্রাণ-আরএফএল গ্রুপের ডিজিটাল দুর্নীতি : গণপূর্ত অধিদপ্তরের কর্মকর্তাদের আঁতাতে হাজার কোটি টাকার লুটপাট !". Ajker Desh. Retrieved 2 December 2025.
  36. ^ "আরএফএলের গোপন কারসাজি". bdtoday.net. 29 October 2025. Retrieved 2 December 2025.
  37. ^ "প্রাণের চেয়ারম্যানকে গ্রেফতারের নির্দেশ". Jugantor (in Bengali). 24 June 2019. Retrieved 2 December 2025.
  38. ^ "প্রাণ-আরএফএল'র বিরুদ্ধে হাইকোর্টের রুল". Bangla Tribune (in Bengali). 25 February 2018. Retrieved 2 December 2025.
  39. ^ "লাখাইয়ে সুতাং নদী শিল্প-বর্জ্যের বিষ: বিপন্ন পরিবেশ, জনস্বাস্থ্য ও অর্থনীতি". The Manobkantha. 1 December 2025. Retrieved 2 December 2025.
  40. ^ "প্রাণের ভেজাল দুধ তৈরির অভিযোগে পাবনায় ৩ কর্মকর্তার জেল, ২৫০০ লিটার দুধ জব্দ". Dhakatimes News. 22 July 2025. Retrieved 2 December 2025.
  41. ^ "প্রাণ-আরএফএল এর বিরুদ্ধে ধর্ম পালনে বাধা দেওয়ার অভিযোগে মানববন্ধন". Amarbarta. 5 October 2024. Retrieved 2 December 2025.
  42. ^ "কাদিয়ানিদের অর্থায়নকারী প্রাণ-আরএফএলের পণ্য বর্জনের আহবান ১০১ আলেমের". Barta 24 (in Bengali). Retrieved 27 November 2025.
  43. ^ "কাদিয়ানীদের অমুসলিম ঘোষণার দাবীতে সংবাদ সম্মেলন | ইনসাফ". insaf24. 6 November 2021. Retrieved 28 November 2025.