Jashim Uddin

Brahmanbaria, Apr 25: Kokil Textile Mills Ltd will be auctioned on May 12 as the company owners failed to pay loan worth Tk 75.42 million to the local branch of Agrani Bank.

The owners of Kokil Textile, once a state-owned enterprise (SOE) of 1960s will face the music as the bank took the move as per section 12 of Money Loan Court Act, 2003.

The company was privatized as Bangladesh Textile Mills Corporation (BTMC) handed over its ownership to Mannan Group of Industries (MGI) on September 29,2006.

BTMC sold the company to MGI at Tk 30.00 million only.

"We have already issued the auction notice which came out in a national daily on April 17," an Agrani Bank source told this correspondent.

The bank had disbursed Tk 122,91000 in favour of Kokil Textile Mills as term loan on October 16, 1989 and also provided Tk 150,00000 as cash credit loan to the mill same year.

The mills, closed since December 1998, had failed to earn profit because of erratic power supply, insufficient spare parts, abnormal price hike of raw materials, high production cost and low selling price as well as alleged corruption and irregularities by a group of officials, company insiders alleged.

The mill did not pay the bank loan on account of loss.

Golam Rasul Khan Rana, General Manager of Kokil Textile Mills told the FE that he did not know about auction sale.

The company was burdened with a net loss of Tk 480 million ahead of the privatisation.

Besides, it had outstanding municipality tax amounting to Tk 0.9 million, electricity bill Tk 8.5 million, gas bill Tk 37000.00 and land development tax Tk 24000.00.

After privatization, BTMC, however, paid the dues.

The company derived its origin from Panoroma Company Limited (PCL), which was established in 1961 on 11.08 acres of land in Brahmanbaria town and started production of yarn in 1965.

After liberation, Bangladesh government nationalized it and renamed it Kokil Textile Mills in 1972.

At the beginning, the mill was running successfully and earned good amount of profit with producing quality yarn.

Kokil Textile products had grabbed the local market and were sold through three stores at Bhairab, Ashugonj and Brahmanbaria town.