Latifur receives Oslo Business for Peace Award

Latifur Rahman, chairman and CEO of Transcom Group and vice-president of International Chamber of Commerce Bangladesh, yesterday received Business for Peace Award 2012 at a function in the Norwegian capital Oslo.
The award is the highest distinction given to a businessperson for outstanding accomplishments in the area of ethical business.
This recognition has included Latifur Rahman in the group of exceptional business personalities like Ratan Tata, chairman of Tata Group in India, who got the award in 2010, and Jeffrey R Immelt, CEO of General Electric in the US, who won it in 2009.
Transcom Group's growth has taken place under adherence to ethical and responsible business practices that serve as a guideline for other businesses in the region, according to a citation by the Oslo-based Business for Peace Foundation, which has been giving the award since 2009.
The Group is one of the highest payers of corporate tax, VAT and import duty in Bangladesh, with a clean bank record, said the Foundation, adding that the companies in the Group also adhere to labour standards and industrial laws.
"Other businesses in the region look up to Latifur Rahman for leadership and guidance for his integrity, ethical standards and business acumen -- well illustrated by Mr Rahman's re-election as the chairman of the Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry for a total of seven terms," read the citation.
The award was presented as part of the "Oslo Summit on Peace through Trade" in Oslo City Hall.
The summit -- Essences of Trust in Business Today -- featured keynote speeches by Alexandra Christina, countess of Frederiksborg, and Roberto Servitje Sendra, founding member and chairman of Grupo Bimbo.
This year, six honourees, including Latifur Rahman, have been selected from out of 90 candidates from 60 countries. The remaining five recipients of the award are Ibrahim Abouleish (Egypt), Eduardo Eurnekian (Argentina), Vladas Lasas (Lithuania), David W MacLennan (USA), and Reginald A Mengi (Tanzania).
An independent committee of Nobel Prize winners in peace and economics selects the recipients. They adhere to the criteria for "being businessworthy" stipulated by the Foundation.
The award-giving committee consists of Prof Muhammad Yunus, winner of 2006 Nobel Peace Prize, and Prof A Michael Spence, Nobel laureate in economic sciences of 2001.
Prof Wangari Muta Maathai (Nobel laureate of 2004), who died on September 25, 2011, was the third member of the committee.
The supporting partners of the Business for Peace Foundation are International Chamber of Commerce, World Chambers Federation, the City of Oslo, the Oslo Chamber of Commerce, and the initiators of the Oslo World Trade Centre.
ICC Bangladesh President Mahbubur Rahman also joined the award ceremony at the invitation of the Foundation.
Further details of the programme were not immediately available from Oslo.