Govt to lend Tk 60cr to Beximco to clear wages

The government will lend Tk 60 crore to Beximco from the national budget in a bid to help the troubled conglomerate clear wages for the month of October.

The labour and employment ministry will provide Tk 10 crore while the finance ministry will fund the rest, Labour Secretary AHM Shafiquzzaman said yesterday.

The issue of providing a loan to Beximco so its workers' wages can be cleared was also discussed at an advisory council meeting yesterday.

"We will disburse the loan as quickly as possible," Shafiquzzaman said.

The decision to lend to the much-discussed conglomerate was made on Tuesday evening in the face of continued demonstrations by workers at the Beximco Industrial Park.

Beximco was forced to close 24 of its ventures following the political changeover in early August due to a lack of raw materials and funding

Yesterday morning, workers of Beximco Group -- which was forced to close 24 of its ventures following the political changeover in early August due to a lack of raw materials and funding -- blocked the Dhaka-Tangail highway for a straight seventh day and demanded that outstanding salaries be cleared.

The industrial conglomerate, which employs roughly 40,000 people, landed in hot water after the arrest of its vice-chairman Salman F Rahman, who served as private sector adviser to former prime minister Sheikh Hasina, who was ousted by a mass uprising on August 5.

Salman is alleged to have weaponised his political influence to take loans from banks, most of which have soured.

This led its main lender, Janata Bank, to stop disbursing fresh funds to the conglomerate.

Of the Tk 23,000 crore that Beximco borrowed from Janata Bank, Tk 19,000 crore turned sour in the July-September quarter.

Shafiquzzaman said they received a prayer for a loan from Beximco yesterday afternoon, adding that they would need some time to complete formalities.

"There are some procedures. We need to know about their collateral. Besides, an agreement is required between Beximco and the finance ministry," he said.

"Required time to process papers must be given. Workers should not demonstrate after the government has assured them that their dues will be cleared," he added. "If they don't have confidence in the government, I have nothing to say."

Shafiquzzaman also said he was informed that two of Beximco's factories resumed production yesterday.

Osman Kaiser Chowdhury, director of finance and corporate affairs at Beximco Group, said they submitted necessary documents to the labour ministry to fast-track the release of the funds.

"We expect to receive a portion of the funds today (Wednesday) and the rest by next Sunday," Chowdhry said, adding that they would clear arrears immediately after getting the money.

However, he said they would be unable to restart all manufacturing units unless the problems related to opening letters of credit for raw material imports can be resolved.

According to him, they are negotiating with the government and Bangladesh Bank to resume the operation of the factories.

If the government provides the necessary funds, they will resume the operation after importing the required raw materials, he said.