Apex Group boss Manzur Elahi, his wife Niloufer of Sunbeams school test positive for coronavirus

NEWS DESK

Syed Manzur Elahi, chairman of conglomerate Apex Group in Bangladesh, and his wife Niloufer Manzur, the founding head of Sunbeams school, have caught COVID-19.

Niloufer has been admitted to the Combined Military Hospital in Dhaka while her husband was undergoing treatment at home, their son Syed Nasim Manzur, also managing director of Apex Group, told the news agency on Saturday night.

Niloufer had tested positive three times, Nasim said and sought blessings for his parents.

She was in coma, a family source said.

Niloufer established Sunbeams, an English-medium institution, in 1974. She is also involved with a social marketing company.

Born in Kolkata Manzur Elahi moved to Dhaka with his family after graduating in economics from the University of Calcutta.

He started his career as a senior executive at the then Pakistan Tobacco Company after doing his post-graduation from Dhaka University. He and Niloufer married in 1966.

Manzur Elhai left tobacco company job after the 1971 Liberation War and started working as a representative of a foreign firm.

He bought Orion Tannery at Hazaribagh in Dhaka and established Apex Tannery in 1975.

Apex Group now owns 11 companies, including Apex Tannery, Apex Footwear, Apex Pharma, Blue Ocean Footwear, Apex Enterprise, Apex Investment and Grey Advertising Bangladesh.

Apex has also invested in Mutual Trust Bank. Syed Manzur was the bank’s founding chairman.

He also is Chairman at East West University’s board of trustees.

Manzur Elahi had headed the Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Bangladesh Employers Association.