Written by The Banking Post
A list of the country’s top 20 loan defaulters, placed in parliament on Monday, has brought several major corporate names into focus, including BEXIMCO Ltd, Keya Cosmetics, and S. Alam Cold Rolled Steels.
The list, compiled based on defaulted loans until December last year, includes both listed and non-listed firms. Financial disclosures are available only for listed companies, while the rest remain outside mandatory reporting requirements.
BEXIMCO, the flagship of the Beximco Group, has been under severe strain since the political transition in August 2024. The company posted a loss of Tk 359 million in FY24—its first—amid declining sales linked to prolonged unrest. It has yet to publish its FY25 financials after shutting down textile units due to worker protests over unpaid wages.
Operations have also been hit by a freeze in banking support. Since August 2024, no letters of credit (LCs) have been opened, forcing the company to offload unused fabric and yarn stocks below cost. Its shares remain stuck at a regulatory floor price of Tk 110.10.
Regulators have taken a tougher stance. The securities regulator imposed a record fine exceeding Tk 4.28 billion in October 2024 on several individuals and entities for manipulating BEXIMCO’s share price. Beximco Communications has also been identified as a defaulter.
S. Alam Cold Rolled Steels, another listed firm on the defaulters’ list, has not published financial statements since FY23 and is now categorised as a junk stock. The company faces frozen bank accounts and restrictions on opening LCs following the political changeover, although it claims to have continued production.
As of November 2024, the company had outstanding loans of Tk 20 billion with Janata Bank, which have been classified as defaulted due to non-payment. Despite repeated demands, the borrower has failed to regularise the loans.
Keya Cosmetics, the third listed firm on the list, has also slipped into the junk category. It has not published financial statements since FY20. Its parent group shut down four factories from May last year, citing market instability, banking discrepancies, and shortages of raw materials.
The closures followed weeks of worker unrest over unpaid salaries. The company last reported a profit of Tk 236 million in FY20, with its shares closing at Tk 5 on Monday.
The finance minister told parliament that total non-performing loans (NPLs) stood at Tk 5.44 trillion as of December. “We are holding quarterly meetings with bank managements to determine ways to recover defaulted loans,” he said, adding that the central bank is also closely monitoring recovery progress.
Notably, half of the top 20 defaulters are linked to the S Alam Group. Alongside S. Alam Cold Rolled Steels, other firms include S Alam Super Edible Oil, S Alam Vegetable Oil, S Alam Refined Sugar Industries, Sonali Traders, Global Trading Corporation, Chemon Ispat, Infinite CR Strips Industries, Deshbandhu Sugar Mills, PowerPac Mutiara power plants, Pacific Bangladesh Telecom, Karnafuly Foods, Murad Enterprise, CLC Power Company, Beximco Communications, and Rongdhanu Builders.
The disclosures underscore growing stress in the banking sector, as authorities step up efforts to rein in defaulted loans and restore financial discipline.
