State-owned Janata Bank has issued an auction notice to sell off the factories, land, and head office of Bangladesh Export Import Company (Beximco) Limited in an effort to recover over Tk1,322 crore in defaulted loans, even as the government pursues an international leasing arrangement to revive the troubled conglomerate's textile operations.
On 25 November, the bank published advertisements in several newspapers announcing the auction of Beximco's mortgaged assets to settle the outstanding loans, including accrued interest calculated up to 31 October. Interested bidders have been asked to submit their offers by 10 December.
At the same time, Janata Bank has also called an auction for the assets of Asses Fashions Limited, seeking to recover its outstanding default loan of Tk1,133 crore as of 31 October.
According to Janata Bank's auction notice, Beximco's assets up for sale include 3,527 decimals of land and factories in Gazipur, 146.65 decimals in Ashulia, and 440 decimals in Narayanganj. The bank has also moved to auction the company's 15-storey corporate headquarters, BEL Tower, located in Dhanmondi.
This follows another auction notice published on 21 November for assets belonging to three Beximco Group companies: International Knitwear & Apparel Limited's Unit-1 and Unit-2 valued at Tk1,754.7 crore, Urban Fashions valued at Tk724.26 crore, and Apollo Apparels worth Tk816.4 crore.
The sudden auction move comes at a time when two international entities – Japan-Bangladesh sustainability venture Revival and US-based expatriate organisation Ecomilli – are collaborating with the government to reopen Beximco's factories.
The two firms said in a statement that Beximco's factories were forced to shut down due to a prolonged debt crisis, and they stepped forward with a recovery plan in hopes of reviving operations through a lease agreement.
Revival and Ecomilli, through Benchmark PR, expressed shock at Janata Bank's abrupt decision to sell the immovable assets and machinery while discussions regarding the lease were still underway.
They said they had already held extensive meetings with surrounding communities, workers' families, small businesses, schools, and local shop owners – groups whose livelihoods depend heavily on the factories – and that all stakeholders were anticipating an imminent reopening.
The organisations said the decision to auction off national industrial assets should be taken with caution, transparency, and consultation with experts, workers, and shareholders.
They urged Janata Bank to reconsider its move, warning that the auction could undermine a rare opportunity for foreign investment led by skilled expatriate Bangladeshis.
They added that the step could also discourage future international investors who are showing renewed interest in Bangladesh's textile and apparel sector.
Repeated attempts by The Business Standard to reach Janata Bank's Managing Director and CEO Md Mazibur Rahman for comments were unsuccessful, as he did not respond to phone calls or WhatsApp messages. Beximco's Managing Director Osman Kaiser Chowdhury also did not respond.