Home ›› 21 Dec 2022 ›› Front
Around 200 workers of Familytex (BD) Limited, a listed company with Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE), are not getting their arrears after the company stopped production more than a month ago.
Sources said Familytex Ltd started its commercial production at Chattogram EPZ in 2006 and got listed with CSE in 2013. Although the company was initially profitable, it started incurring losses during the last few years due to internal conflict between the sponsor directors and mismanagement.
As a result, the production of the company decreased year by year and the amount of debt increased simultaneously. In the meantime, the sponsor directors left the company selling out their shares, the sources said.
Bangladesh Securities Exchange Commission (BSEC) appointed five independent directors to the company in March last, with an aim to establish good governance and accountability in the activities of the apparel company located at the Bangladesh Export Processing Zone (EPZ) in Halishahar area in Chattogram. But, despite the BSEC initiative, the company’s condition worsened further since then.
Finally, on November 10 last, the company halted production without any prior announcement and without paying the arrears of around 200 workers.
According to Familytex Ltd sources, the net loss for the fiscal year 2019-20 was Tk 5.33 crore. In addition, the company’s bank loan was about Tk 32 crore in 2020, which was Tk 19 crore in the previous year. In other words, the bank loan has increased by Tk 13 crore in a year.
It is learned that Meraj-e-Mustafa, a sponsor director and also chairman of Familytex Ltd, sold his 1,69,26,000 shares in October 2018 without announcement.
Around the same time, Roksana Morshed, another director of the company, offloaded her 5.18 crore shares at different times in 2017 for about Tk 56 crore. Not only Roksana Morshed, but her ex-husband and Managing Director of Familytex Mohammad Morshed also sold his shares for Tk 23 crore in October 2017 and left the country later.
As a result, the board of directors of the company failed to hold the minimum number of shares.
Several investors of the company said that the highest price of each share of the company was Tk 48.50 on the day of the start of trading. And on Monday, it was traded at Tk 4.90 which means that an investor incurred a loss worth Tk 43.60 per share.
The investors alleged that the BSEC does not have a strict monitoring system to check whether the sponsor directors of a company are trading shares unannounced or secretly. The stock exchange monitors the matter and informs the BSEC. But the BSEC rarely takes swift and exemplary action.
As a result of the negligence of the BSEC, 96 per cent of investors of Familytex Ltd are losing capital and dividends year after year, the frustrated investors alleged.
On anonymity, an official of the Bangladesh Export Processing Zone Authority said that since the BSEC appointed the independent directors to Familytex, the condition of the company has worsened. Now the production activities of the company have completely stopped. Previously the company employed 1200 workers which decreased to 200 before closure. For the last few years, Familytex used to subcontract its orders to other factories.
He apprehended that the BEPZA might lock the factory permanently at any time and sell the machinery later through auction.
Contacted, Familytex Chairman Meraj-e-Mustafa said, “We tried our best to keep the factory open. However, due to the Covid pandemic, garment exports have decreased a lot. Even then, we tried hard to turn around. But we cannot do it anymore in the current situation.”
“Many decisions could not be taken due to the opposition of BSEC-appointed independent directors. As a result, our commercial activities have stopped, although we are trying to reopen the factory,” he added.
Mentionable, the authorised capital of Familytex Ltd is Tk 400 crore and the paid-up capital is Tk 354 crore. The total number of shares of the company is 35,41,60,388. The sponsor directors hold 4.2 per cent of the shares while institutional investors and general investors respectively hold 18.41 per cent and 77.57 per cent of shares.
