The government’s plan to revive Beximco’s distressed factories through an international lease arrangement has hit a major setback, as state-owned Janata Bank has initiated the process to auction six of the company’s industrial units. The bank’s swift move contradicts ongoing high-level government efforts to protect thousands of jobs and maintain export earnings from the country’s textile and apparel sector.

According to sources, the Janata Bank board meeting scheduled for 18 November was expected to approve a draft tripartite lease agreement between Beximco, Janata Bank, and Japan-based Revival Project Limited. However, the meeting was postponed and rescheduled for 20 November with a revised agenda—introducing a proposal to auction the mortgaged assets instead of moving forward with the lease plan.

One day after the meeting, Janata Bank issued a public notice announcing the auction of mortgaged properties at three factories located in Beximco Industrial Park, Kashimpur, Gazipur. The listed assets include 193 decimals of land along with factory buildings and installations. Bank officials confirmed that auction notices for the remaining three factories will be issued soon.

The auction notice, originally published on 1 November, reveals the scale of outstanding debt owed by the factories.

International Knitwear and Apparels Ltd. (Units 1 & 2): Tk 543.7 crore in principal loans, rising to Tk 1,754.7 crore with interest.

Urban Fashions Ltd.: Tk 252.45 crore in principal loans, increasing to Tk 724.26 crore with interest.

Apollo Apparels Ltd.: Tk 251.26 crore in principal loans, now totaling Tk 816.4 crore with interest.

The auctions will cover machinery, inventories, land, and all physical structures. Soon afterward, auctions will also begin for the mortgaged assets of Crescent Fashions (Tk 1,397 crore), Assees Fashion (Tk 1,135 crore), and Bangladesh Export Import Company (Tk 1,316 crore).

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Labour had been pursuing a plan to reopen Beximco’s export-oriented textile mills to safeguard employment and avoid a fall in export revenue. Several inter-ministerial meetings—also involving the Finance Division, Bangladesh Bank, and Janata Bank—had been held to advance the revival initiative.

In May this year, Japan’s Revival Project Limited submitted an Expression of Interest (EOI) to lease and operate the factories, with Beximco expressing its support. The government later endorsed the plan, and the Ministry of Labour held its first formal meeting on 22 July. Two separate committees—an 11-member advisory panel formed in November 2024 and another five-member committee—also recommended proceeding with the Revival proposal.

The draft lease agreement, prepared on 8 October, outlined that Revival Project Limited would make an initial investment of USD 20 million, eventually increasing it to USD 100 million. The company would operate the factories, receive a 1.5%–2.5% commission from export earnings, and channel the remaining funds—after operational costs—toward loan repayments to Janata Bank and other lenders. Beximco itself would not receive direct financial benefits under this arrangement.

The lease deal was expected to be approved at the Janata Bank board meeting on 18 November, but the sudden shift in agenda—and the move toward auctions—has raised questions about internal divisions within the government’s decision-making process.

Officials involved in the revival effort say the bank’s abrupt decision could jeopardize thousands of jobs and undermine an internationally backed plan to restart one of the country’s major industrial clusters.