Properties mortgaged by Beximco Limited have been put up for auction by state-owned Rupali Bank to recover Tk 993 crore in outstanding loans, but no bidder submitted an offer by the deadline.

The auction included around 26 acres of land in Gazipur and Narayanganj, along with other movable and immovable assets. The deadline for submitting bids was 2:00pm on September 14. After the bid box was opened, the bank found that no individual or institution had applied to purchase the properties.

Rupali Bank published the auction notice in several newspapers on August 14, stating that Beximco Textile owed the bank Tk 993 crore. The amount excludes unpaid interest. The bank sought to sell the mortgaged assets in their existing condition to recover its outstanding dues, related costs and court interest.

The properties include 17.41 acres of land in Narayanganj, comprising 8.39 acres in two sections of Tarabo mouza and another 9.2 acres in Jatramura mouza. The auction list also included 8.55 acres of land in Gazipur, along with additional properties in different areas.

Several plots in Joydebpur, Kaliakair and Kapasia in Gazipur were included in separate schedules in the auction notice. The land was listed in acres and decimals in different schedules.

The loans were originally taken by two Beximco subsidiaries—Padma and Beximco Knitting. The two companies were later merged into Beximco Textile, or Bextex, which was subsequently merged with Beximco Limited.

Beximco Limited, a listed company on the stock market, had total outstanding loans of Tk 6,449 crore as of June 30, 2024. Of this, Tk 3,109 crore was in short-term loans and Tk 3,340 crore in long-term loans.

The failed auction follows similar attempts by state-owned Janata Bank and Sonali Bank to sell Beximco properties, which also failed to attract the expected response from potential buyers.

Beximco Group could not be reached for comment on the latest auction.

Economist Abu Ahmed said such auctions are often part of the formal loan-recovery process and may not always attract interested buyers.

He said banks generally proceed with auctions of mortgaged assets when borrowers fail to repay loans, while continuing communication with the borrower and pursuing other available recovery procedures.