PRAN-RFL Group (Bengali: প্রাণ-আরএফএল গ্রুপ) is a Bangladeshi conglomerate, founded in 1981 by Amjad Khan Chowdhury. It is one of the largest conglomerates in Bangladesh 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.
Pran Foods is the flagship company of the group and RFL is the subsidiary company mostly consisting of plastic and steel products.
History
PRAN (Programme for Rural Advancement Nationally) was established in 1981 by retired Major General Amjad Khan Chowdhury and has become one of the largest food and beverage brands in Bangladesh. PRAN pioneered agribusiness in Bangladesh by providing farmers with guaranteed prices. PRAN Foods, a subsidiary of the PRAN-RFL Group, produces a number of agricultural products under the PRAN banner. PRAN established a subsidiary company in UAE in 2003.
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. 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. The same year the revenue for PRAN exceeded US$500 million. PRAN started exporting potatoes in March 2016.
In April 2016, PRAN started to export cassava and the first shipment, worth US$3 million, was sent to New Zealand. PRAN has 80 thousand direct employees and 200 thousand indirect employees. PRAN exports to over 118 countries.
PRAN started exporting through river route to India from Bangladesh in March 2021.
Pran-RFL Group has several joint ventures with international companies, such as PepsiCo, Danone, and Nestlé.
Businesses
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-
Duranta
Duranta a part of the group makes bicycles for the international and domestic market. They launched the countries first ebike. The venture started in 2015.
Proton
Proton Mobile is the brand for the group's manufactured and marketed feature phones and smartphones.
Awards
- Top VAT payers Awards from the National Board of Revenue for being top VAT payer in different financial year.
- National Productivity Award by National Productivity Organization.
- Best Employer Brand Award.
- National Export Trophies.
Factories
- Habiganj Industrial Park, Sayestaganj, Habiganj, Sylhet
- PRAN Industrial Park, Palash, Narshingdi
- RFL Industrial Park, Mulgaon, Kaliganj, Gazipur
- Danga Industrial Park, Kazirchar, Danga, Palash, Narshingdi
- Rupganj RFL Factory, Rupganj, Narayanganj
- Rangpur Foundry Ltd., BSCIC, Kallabong, Rangpur
- Pran Agro Ltd, Natore
References
