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Tk 1,849cr Beximco loans rescheduled

5 companies of the group get 11 years to repay Janata Bank

Rejaul Karim Byron
Taking its cue from Sonali Bank, Janata Bank has decided to reschedule Tk 1,849 crore loans to five garment and textile units of Beximco Group for 11 years.
Last month, Sonali Bank rescheduled Tk 982.44 crore loans to Beximco Ltd, the largest unit of the Group, which now awaits Bangladesh Bank's consent.
However, the conditions that Janata Bank tagged to the loan rescheduling are slightly tougher than those of Sonali Bank.
Janata Bank made the decision last week after Beximco Vice Chairman Salman F Rahman approached the central bank in August with a debt rescheduling plan of Tk 5,269 crore, mostly from seven banks including Janata and Sonali.
In a letter to the BB, Salman appealed to it to bail the company out of a liquidity crisis, prompting the regulator to forward the proposals to all seven banks that gave loans to the Group.
Janata Bank's board approved Beximco's proposal considering its contribution to the country's economy and employment generation, the bank's Managing Director Abdus Salam told The Daily Star.
Salam, however, said it would come into effect only upon the central bank's consent.
As per the rescheduling proposal, the bank would deduct 5 percent from each of Group's export proceeds which would later be adjusted in instalments, said a Janata Bank official.
The interest rate on the loans is 11 percent, much lower than the market rate of 13-14 percent.
But for the bank to reschedule the loans till September 30, 2025, the Group has to mortgage property worth more than Tk 1,000 crore in addition to its present collateral of Tk 113 crore, said the source.
The rescheduling time would include a grace period of two years, meaning the Group wouldn't pay any instalment till September 30, 2016.
However, the conglomerate would forfeit the rescheduling facility if it fails to pay any instalment.
Last month, Sonali Bank rescheduled Beximco Ltd's loan for 12 years till 2026 with an interest rate of 10 percent.
Both Janata and Sonali boards approved the loan proposals without taking any down payments from Beximco.
Wishing anonymity, a Janata Bank official said the Group's loans would be restructured, not rescheduled, implying that the provision of down payment is not mandatory in this case.
A number of bank officials and businesspersons said if Beximco is given such a benefit, other business groups may also demand similar
facility from banks.
Another Janata Bank official said the proposal was approved because they received it through the central bank. If any other business group wants to seek similar facility it must come through the BB.
However, several bank officials said the conglomerate lobbied high-ups of the BB and several banks to get the facility.
Abdus Salam said Beximco, one of the country's largest business groups, owes more than Tk 2,000 crore in loans to Janata Bank.
The bank considered the rescheduling proposal to make it possible for the conglomerate to repay its Ioans on time, he said.
In his letter to the central bank, Salman showed two reasons behind the Group's liquidity crisis - politically motivated credit restrictions on the Group between 2001 and 2008, and repayment of Tk 800 crore in bank loans in the last three years.
Beximco Ltd, listed on the stockmarket, operates in textiles, real estate, hospitality, marine food, commodities trading, ICT, ceramics and aviation.
Khondkar Ibrahim Khaled, former deputy governor of the central bank, told this correspondent that the BB would have to evaluate the rescheduling proposal cautiously before giving its consent.
On previous occasions, Beximco took loans from different banks resorting to irregularities, and later had those rescheduled using political clout, Khaled said.
According to the latest rescheduling proposal, the Group would get several facilities, including low interest rate, he said.
In the past, the Group availed itself of such facilities, and Bangladesh Bank would have to consider very cautiously whether it would give the conglomerate the same benefits over and over, said Khaled.