Founder chairman of Partex Group and former parliament member MA Hashem died of COVID-19 at hospital in Dhaka in the early hours on Thursday.

Confirming the news, Hashem’s youngest son Shawkat Aziz Russell told New Age that he died at the Evercare Hospital at 1:20am. He was 77.

He was admitted to the hospital after being tested positive for COVID-19 on December 11.

He was put on life support on Wednesday after his condition deteriorated.

Born in Noakhali on August 30, 1943, Hashem made his modest beginning in the tobacco trading business in 1962.

In the early seventies, he established M/S. Hashem Corporation (Pvt.) Ltd. with its headquarters in the port-city Chattogram.

In the newly-independent Bangladesh he got involved in the import of iron, steel, cement, sugar, rice, spices, wheat, salt, milk and other essential commodities.

He later created Partex Group, which is involved in manufacturing many items like furniture, boards, food and beverages, plastics, paper, cotton, yarn, jute, real estate, textile, shipping, agro, garments, aero marine logistics.

Among his many milestones, Partex Petro Chemical is his latest and the largest private sector refinery in the country which is due for production.

Hashem is also one of the pioneers of the birth and growth of private banks and insurance companies in Bangladesh.

He was one of the founding members of the two largest private banks in Bangladesh - The City Bank Limited and United Commercial Bank Limited.

He also founded Janata Insurance Ltd.

Hashem also served as a Member of Parliament. He was elected to parliament in 2001 from his home constituency- Noakhali on a Bangladesh Nationalist Party ticket.

As a philanthropist in his hometown, Noakhali he established a school and a hospital under his name, both of which are non-profit organisations.

He is the founder of MA Hashem University College, Noakhali and also one of the founders of the North South University.

Hashem left behind his widow Sultana Hashem, five sons, Aziz Al Kaiser Tito, Aziz Al Mahmud, Aziz Al Masud, Rubel Aziz, Shawkat Aziz Russell and host of relatives and admirers to mourn his death.

Partex group in a statement said Hashem left behind an unmatched legacy of entrepreneurship and industrialisation.

‘He built up Partex Group from scratch to one of the largest conglomerates in Bangladesh and set an example of ethical business that inspires many others in the years to come,’ it said.