10:46 am, Friday, 7 February 2025

Govt to permanently close 12 Beximco companies

  • Bizbd Report
  • Update Time : 08:11:25 pm, Tuesday, 28 January 2025
  • 146

The government has decided that all the 12 laid-off companies within Beximco Industrial Park would be permanently closed and the legal dues of affected workers be paid by February 2025.

The Advisory Council Committee on the Review of Labor and Business Conditions of Companies in Beximco Industrial Park made the decision in its sixth meeting held at Bangladesh Secretariat on Tuesday.

On December 15, nearly 40,000 workers were laid off by Beximco Group across its 12 apparel units, due to a shortage of work orders for its export-oriented garment and textile factories located in Gazipur on the outskirts of Dhaka.

After the meeting, labor adviser M Sakhawat Hossain at a press briefing on Tuesday said that that Beximco Group had obtained massive loans from various banks using the names of non-existent companies.

He described the group’s loan scam as being even larger than the theft of Bangladesh Bank’s reserves.

Adviser said that the meeting has decided to dismiss the receiver of Beximco Group due to the non-compliance with the committee’s directive.

The Banking and Financial Institutions Department, along with Bangladesh Bank, would take departmental action, including the dismissal of the receiver, for failing to implement the advisory committee’s decision regarding the closure of Beximco’s laid-off companies.

At the same time the BFID would take the necessary steps to replace the receiver.

The meeting decided that Bangladesh Bank would conduct an investigation, including a foreign audit, into the loans provided to Beximco Industrial Park’s institutions by February 2025.

This would examine the supporting documentation and identify any irregularities.

Additionally, a meeting would be held on Sunday between BSEC, FID, and the concerned banks to discuss the sale of mortgaged shares of Beximco Pharma and Shinepukur Ltd, with the Finance Department to take further necessary actions.

During the press breading, the labour adviser said that currently, 32 industrial establishments are based within the Beximco Industrial Park. However, 16 of these are non-existent, with accumulated debts totaling a staggering Tk 12,000 crore.

Additionally, 12 factories have been laid off, leaving only three running factories: Beximco Export Import Company Limited, Beximco PPE Ltd and RR Washing Ltd.

The combined debt of all 32 factories stands at a Tk 29,925 crore, with the overall debt of Beximco Limited surpassing Tk 40,000 crore.

A significant portion of this debt is owed to Janata Bank, amounting to Tk 23,285 crore.

In response to the growing crisis, the government has stepped in to assist the workers and employees of Beximco Industrial Park.

The government has paid arrears for the months of September, November, and December 2024.

For September, the payment amounted to Tk 55 crore, followed by Tk 58.67 crore for November, and Tk 49.76 crore for December.

The labour ministry announcement said that preparations remained underway to address the arrears for January 2025, based on the advisory council’s next decision.

The ministry also said that the government has provided interest-free loans to mitigate the immediate financial strain, including Tk 50 crore from the Finance Department and Tk 10 crore from the central fund of the labour ministry.

This brings the total government support to Tk 223.43 crore since September 2024.

Beximco Group’s challenges have been compounded by a legal setback, as the High Court suspended the appointment of independent directors for three of its companies, according to the labour ministry.

Govt to permanently close 12 Beximco companies

Update Time : 08:11:25 pm, Tuesday, 28 January 2025

The government has decided that all the 12 laid-off companies within Beximco Industrial Park would be permanently closed and the legal dues of affected workers be paid by February 2025.

The Advisory Council Committee on the Review of Labor and Business Conditions of Companies in Beximco Industrial Park made the decision in its sixth meeting held at Bangladesh Secretariat on Tuesday.

On December 15, nearly 40,000 workers were laid off by Beximco Group across its 12 apparel units, due to a shortage of work orders for its export-oriented garment and textile factories located in Gazipur on the outskirts of Dhaka.

After the meeting, labor adviser M Sakhawat Hossain at a press briefing on Tuesday said that that Beximco Group had obtained massive loans from various banks using the names of non-existent companies.

He described the group’s loan scam as being even larger than the theft of Bangladesh Bank’s reserves.

Adviser said that the meeting has decided to dismiss the receiver of Beximco Group due to the non-compliance with the committee’s directive.

The Banking and Financial Institutions Department, along with Bangladesh Bank, would take departmental action, including the dismissal of the receiver, for failing to implement the advisory committee’s decision regarding the closure of Beximco’s laid-off companies.

At the same time the BFID would take the necessary steps to replace the receiver.

The meeting decided that Bangladesh Bank would conduct an investigation, including a foreign audit, into the loans provided to Beximco Industrial Park’s institutions by February 2025.

This would examine the supporting documentation and identify any irregularities.

Additionally, a meeting would be held on Sunday between BSEC, FID, and the concerned banks to discuss the sale of mortgaged shares of Beximco Pharma and Shinepukur Ltd, with the Finance Department to take further necessary actions.

During the press breading, the labour adviser said that currently, 32 industrial establishments are based within the Beximco Industrial Park. However, 16 of these are non-existent, with accumulated debts totaling a staggering Tk 12,000 crore.

Additionally, 12 factories have been laid off, leaving only three running factories: Beximco Export Import Company Limited, Beximco PPE Ltd and RR Washing Ltd.

The combined debt of all 32 factories stands at a Tk 29,925 crore, with the overall debt of Beximco Limited surpassing Tk 40,000 crore.

A significant portion of this debt is owed to Janata Bank, amounting to Tk 23,285 crore.

In response to the growing crisis, the government has stepped in to assist the workers and employees of Beximco Industrial Park.

The government has paid arrears for the months of September, November, and December 2024.

For September, the payment amounted to Tk 55 crore, followed by Tk 58.67 crore for November, and Tk 49.76 crore for December.

The labour ministry announcement said that preparations remained underway to address the arrears for January 2025, based on the advisory council’s next decision.

The ministry also said that the government has provided interest-free loans to mitigate the immediate financial strain, including Tk 50 crore from the Finance Department and Tk 10 crore from the central fund of the labour ministry.

This brings the total government support to Tk 223.43 crore since September 2024.

Beximco Group’s challenges have been compounded by a legal setback, as the High Court suspended the appointment of independent directors for three of its companies, according to the labour ministry.