State-owned Janata Bank has initiated the auction of assets belonging to Bangladesh Export Import Company (Beximco) Limited, including its factory, land, and the Bell Tower headquarters, in a bid to recover outstanding loans exceeding BDT 1,322 crore. This move comes at a time when the government is working with international leasing companies to revive Beximco’s textile units, which had previously faced severe financial challenges.
On Tuesday, 25 November, Janata Bank published an advertisement in national newspapers announcing the sale of Beximco’s mortgaged assets. The auction will aim to recover overdue loans, including interest, by 31 October. Interested buyers are invited to submit their bids by 10 December.
In addition to Beximco’s assets, Janata Bank also announced the auction of assets belonging to Assess Fashions Limited, which has an overdue loan amounting to BDT 1,133 crore as of 31 October.
According to the auction notice, the assets being sold include:
- 3,527 decimals of land and a factory in Gazipur
- 146.65 decimals of land in Ashulia
- 440 decimals of land in Narayanganj
- The Bell Tower corporate office, a 15-storey building located in Dhaka’s Dhanmondi area
Earlier, on 21 November, Janata Bank also announced the auction of assets from three Beximco Group companies: International Knitwear and Apparel Ltd (Units 1 and 2), Urban Fashions, and Apollo Apparels, with a combined estimated valuation of over BDT 3,000 crore.
This sudden auction decision comes at a time when two international organisations—Revival, a Japan-Bangladesh joint venture, and eComilli, a U.S.-based organisation of expatriate Bangladeshis—are working with the government to revive Beximco’s factories. These organisations had been in discussions with the government about revitalising the factories through a leasing arrangement.
In a joint statement, Revival and eComilli expressed their surprise at the auction, calling it a “disturbing” move given that talks with the government were ongoing. They highlighted that many local communities, including workers’ families, small businesses, schools, and shopkeepers, depend on the Beximco factories for their livelihoods and had been eagerly awaiting their reopening.
The organisations also stressed that auctioning national industrial assets was a sensitive matter and called for greater caution, transparency, and consultations with experts, workers, and shareholders. They warned Janata Bank that the auction decision could jeopardise foreign investment opportunities led by highly skilled expatriate Bangladeshis, which were essential for the factories’ revival.
Furthermore, they pointed out that the recent uptick in international investment in Bangladesh’s textile and garment sectors could be adversely affected by such a move.
Attempts to reach Mohammad Mujibur Rahman, Managing Director and CEO of Janata Bank, for comment were unsuccessful, with no response to repeated phone calls or WhatsApp messages. Similarly, Beximco’s Managing Director, Osman Kaiser Chowdhury, did not respond to requests for comment.