Mahindra shuts its Bangladesh subsidiary

Indian auto giant Mahindra and Mahindra (M&M) has shut down the operations of its wholly-owned subsidiary Mahindra Bangladesh Private Limited (MBPL).

In a regulatory filing in India, it said shutting down the inoperative entity would not interrupt Mahindra's prevailing business of import and distribution of a wide range of commercial, passenger, and utility vehicles as well as construction and agricultural equipment that have been under the operations of a branch office of the Indian company for more than two decades in Bangladesh.

M&M convened its last general meeting with shareholders on 14 March and approved the final voluntary winding up, the company disclosed in the filing.

MBPL, a different venture altogether created four years ago, has been liquidated and ceased to exist effective from Tuesday, Indian media said, adding that it had zero income from operations as on 31 March last year.

Its net worth, as of that point, stood at some Tk4 crore (₹3.18 crore), constituting 0.01% of the consolidated net worth of the Mumbai-based auto major, M&M noted.

In September 2022, MBPL shareholders passed a resolution proposing the winding up of the unit and the appointment of a liquidator to complete the process.

Thereafter, MBPL did not undertake any business operations.

M&M incorporated Mahindra Bangladesh in 2019.

According to the company's previous statement, the objective of the Bangladesh subsidiary was "to carry on the businesses of trading, distributing, supplying, storing, exporting, importing, servicing, manufacturing, developing, assembling, leasing, selling on hire-purchase or instalment systems, and conducting research and development, of all kinds of passenger, transportation, and utility vehicles, including but not limited to tankers, tractors, agricultural machinery, multi-utility vehicles, trailers, lorries, trucks, buses, motor cars, motor cycles, three-wheelers, or other motor vehicles."

Earlier, local company Aftab Automobiles started manufacturing Mahindra two-wheelers in its Chattogram factory, but with little success, it shut down the two-wheeler business in 2022.

Mahindra itself had earlier opted out of manufacturing small commuter motorcycles and focused on medium segment motorcycles, which are yet to be allowed on Bangladeshi roads.