Global Heavy Chemicals Limited, a listed company of the well-established and Awami League affiliated Opsonin Group, has fallen into a severe financial crisis. The company is unable to repay its loans and is struggling to carry out its day-to-day operations.

Moreover, it may soon become impossible for the company to continue its commercial activities in the near future. As a result, the reputation of the Opsonin Group has come under question.

This information was disclosed by the auditors in the company’s audited financial statements for the 2024–25 fiscal year.

Global Heavy Chemicals Limited is a subsidiary of the Opsonin Group. It is known as Bangladesh’s first private chlor-alkali plant and specializes in the production of caustic soda, chlorine, hydrochloric acid, calcium hypochlorite, and hydrogen gas.

The possible shutdown of Global Heavy Chemicals, despite being part of such an established group, has raised serious concerns among investors about the Opsonin Group itself. Investors believe that the group could easily provide financial support to restore Global Heavy Chemicals to its previous position. If this is not done and Global Heavy collapses, shareholders will suffer losses and the reputation of the entire Opsonin Group will be damaged. Investors also suspect that Global Heavy Chemicals may be deliberately being pushed toward destruction to serve the interests of the authoritarian Awami League and harm the country.

According to the auditors, the company’s current liabilities stand at BDT 138.25 crore, including bank loans of BDT 91.55 crore and trade payables of BDT 18.84 crore. In contrast, the company’s current assets amount to only BDT 16.98 crore. This indicates that the company is financially insolvent and lacks the capacity to settle its liabilities, which is likely to create serious operational challenges in the near future.

The company’s sales declined sharply from BDT 74.42 crore in the previous fiscal year to BDT 31.32 crore in the 2024–25 fiscal year—a drop of 58 percent. Overall, the auditors have expressed concern about the company’s ability to maintain uninterrupted production.

Due to asset shortages, and in line with a decision of the board of directors, the company’s management was forced to temporarily shut down factory operations unexpectedly on 15 October last year. Later, on 31 October, factory operations were partially resumed on a limited scale for some units not related to gas supply.

The auditors further noted that the company’s land value increased by BDT 256.24 crore through revaluation conducted in 2011 and 2024, which increased the net asset value per share (NAVPS) by BDT 33.81. However, at the same time, the company did not conduct impairment tests to determine the fair market value of other fixed assets such as buildings, machinery, and generators, even though the actual market value of those assets is lower than what is shown in the financial statements.

According to the auditors, this situation has created serious uncertainty regarding the company’s ability to continue as a going concern.

The company also has unpaid dividends amounting to BDT 33 lakh, which have not been transferred to the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission’s Capital Market Stabilization Fund.

When contacted for comments, Company Secretary Khandaker Ahaduzzaman said he would not make any remarks. He stated that all information would have to be found independently and that the company would not comment on anything outside of price-sensitive information. When asked whether he was avoiding comments to conceal irregularities, he again declined to respond. He also did not answer questions regarding who was responsible for destroying the company, how funds were allegedly embezzled, why investors were financially ruined, or why this company was performing poorly while other Opsonin Group companies were doing well.

It is noteworthy that Global Heavy Chemicals, which was listed on the stock market in 2013, has a paid-up capital of BDT 72 crore. Of this, 31.40 percent is owned by various categories of public investors (excluding sponsors and directors). As of Saturday (20 December), the company’s share price stood at BDT 20.20.