Beximco, 9 other firms face lawsuits over failure to repay Tk700cr wage loans
Deadline to repay loans end on 31 December
Highlights:
- Government to take legal action against 10 defaulting industrial firms
- Beximco Group largest loan recipient: nearly Tk585 crore unpaid
- Repayment deadline for all loans: 31 December 2025
- Measures include travel bans, asset confiscation, and factory sales
- Loans were meant to prevent labour unrest after wage arrears
- Labour ministry forms committee to settle dues, prevent further unrest
The interim government has decided to take legal action against owners of at least 10 struggling industrial firms, including the Beximco Group, after more than Tk700 crore in interest-free loans given to clear workers' wage arrears were not repaid within the agreed timeframe.
The government has decided that any factory owner failing to repay the loan by 31 December will face legal proceedings. Additional measures include imposing foreign travel bans, confiscating passports of owners, managing directors and board members, and, if necessary, selling land, factories and machinery to recover the funds.
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The decisions emerged from the minutes of a meeting of the Adviser Council Committee on labour and business conditions at Beximco Industrial Park, held on 8 December.
According to official records, more than Tk701.6 crore was disbursed to 10 industrial groups under a six-month repayment condition to defuse labour unrest following widespread wage arrears after 5 August last year.
Of the amount, the labour ministry provided Tk76,14,55,115 while the Finance Division provided the remaining Tk 6,25,46,00,000.
Labour and Employment Adviser Brigadier General (retd) M Sakhawat Hossain has held several meetings with factory owners and leaders of the BGMEA and the BKMEA, seeking their cooperation to ensure repayment of the government funds.
The troubled companies
The loan recipients include Beximco Group, Bards Group, TNZ Group, Yellow Apparels Limited, Dard Group, Niagara Textiles Limited, Roar Fashion Limited, Mahmud Jeans Ltd and Apparel Chain BD Limited.
The largest exposure involves Beximco Group, which received nearly Tk585 crore in two phases. In November last year, it was given Tk59.53 crore, followed by a further Tk525.46 crore on 6 March. Repayment deadlines of 21 May and 6 September have also expired without payment.
Bards Group received Tk19 crore on 11 November 2024. The repayment deadline expired on 11 May 2025, but no payment has been made.
TNZ Group received Tk28 crore in two phases – Tk16 crore on 28 November last year and Tk12 crore on 28 May this year. The repayment deadlines of 27 May and 28 August have both passed without any repayment.
Yellow Apparels received Tk37.32 crore on 20 November last year, Dard Group Tk13 crore on 10 December, Niagara Textiles Tk18 crore on 4 June, Roar Fashion Tk1.23 crore on 27 March, Mahmud Jeans Tk21 crore on 28 May, and Apparel Chain BD Tk1 crore on 4 April last year. None of these companies has repaid the loans despite the lapse of their respective deadlines.
A senior finance ministry official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told TBS that the loans were extended primarily to prevent labour unrest but recovery plans failed as many of the factories remained closed.
Fresh labour unrest feared
Meanwhile, the labour ministry fears further labour unrest as three other companies – BHIS Apparels Limited, Seasons Dresses Limited, and Paradise Cables Limited – are currently unable to pay their workers' wages and benefits.
BHIS Apparels owes Tk2.27 crore, Seasons Dresses Tk16.75 crore and Paradise Cables Tk8.40 crore. At the 8 December meeting, Paradise Cables Managing Director Mobarak Hossain said the factory had been closed since 2017 and that efforts were under way to clear remaining dues within three months. Seasons Dresses has requested an interest-free loan from the central labour fund, while no representative from BHIS Apparels attended the meeting. A representative of the Dard Group said they could not pay the remaining dues of the workers and employees due to the inability to raise funds.
The labour adviser instructed officials to form a technical committee to prepare a comprehensive action plan to settle workers' dues at the affected firms and avert further unrest.
