Partex Group, one of the largest family-owned manufacturing and service-based companies in Bangladesh, has split its business into two groups to improve management procedures.
Sultana Hashem, wife of company founder MA Hashem, and her two elder sons own one part, Partex Group. MA Hashem and their three other sons have retained different units of the rest of the company under Partex Holdings.
“We started the break-up process in 2006 and now it is complete,” Aziz Al Kaiser, the eldest son and vice chairman of the present Partex Group, told The Daily Star.
Kaiser, who is on his mid-40s, said there is no family feud among them. “The split was made for better management practices."
Rubel Aziz, the youngest son and a director of Partex Holdings, said the division was taken on amicable terms.
With a modest start in 1959, Partex began with tobacco trading and prudent entrepreneurship under the leadership of Hashem. It now owns over 25 units -- from tobacco to food, water, soft drinks, steel containers, edible oil, furniture, yarn and the IT sector.
The group employs over 10,000 people.
The new Partex Group owns Star Particle Board Mills, Danish Condensed Milk, Danish Food Products, Danish Milk Bangladesh, Danish Distribution Network, Partex Furniture Industries, Corvee Maritime, Ferrotechnic Ltd, Rubel Steel Mills, Partex Ltd, Partex Builders, Partex Agro Ltd, Partex Housing, and Partex Laminates.
Partex Holdings, under Hashem, owns Amber Cotton Mills, Amber Pulp and Paper Mills, Partex Beverage, Partex Plastics, Partex Real Estate, Star Vegetable Oil Mills, Star Coconut Mills, Dhakacom Ltd (ISP), Fotoroma, Partex Spinning, and Danim and Hashem Corporation (Pvt) Ltd.
Small, medium and large family owned businesses dominate over Bangladesh's $100 billion economy, which has been growing at over 5 percent a year since 1995.
Besides Partex, Akij Group, Nasir Group, Square, Ispahani, Abul Khair Group, ACI and PHP are some prominent family-owned businesses in the country.
Although large family-owned companies are usually split in different countries, it did not happen to that extent in Bangladesh.
“The break-up process started before 1/11 (January 11, 2007). I have done it for my necessity,” founder of the company MA Hashem said. “It is better to divide the business among the five sons before my death.”
Now, the new Partex Group dreams to grow faster in the local market, while Partex Holdings has focused on export markets.
“We'll rebrand the name Partex Group and expand it,” said Kaiser.
Rubel Aziz said they own export-oriented companies of the former group except a few.
“Eventually, every brother will be separated in business,” he said.