Appollo Ispat’s MD tenders resignation from an undisclosed location
On 9 March this year, Md Rafique sent the resignation letter through an email, said an official of the company, seeking anonymity
After remaining incommunicado for more than six months, Md Rafique has tendered his resignation, from an undisclosed location, as the managing director of Appollo Ispat Complex Limited, which has been out of operation for over three years.
On 9 March this year, Md Rafique sent the resignation letter through an email, said an official of the company, seeking anonymity.
In a notice published in newspapers, the beleaguered company has requested the managing director to appear at the board meeting on 21 March at 3 pm and hand over his charges, he added.
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Appollo Ispat, which is listed on the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), is a failing producer of once-popular corrugated steel "Rani Marka Dheutin".
It began commercial production in 1997 and went public in 2013 to raise Tk220 crore from investors, mainly to repay bank loans with Tk150 crore and the remaining amount was invested for capacity expansion.
It was generating nearly Tk500 crore in annual revenue before going public.
The company carried out the expansion at its Narayanganj factory, but it is yet to get into production due to the financial crisis.
For the last two years, the company is not posting its financial updates and there was no general meeting of shareholders.
Evana F Mohammad, a director of the company, claimed in a media interview last year that embezzlement by a former director who was looking after the company and later fled the country ruined it all and the company needed more than Tk700 crore to regain the ground.
In December last year, a Dhaka court issued arrest warrants against Appollo Ispat Complex Limited Vice-Chairman Mohammad Shoeb and four of its top officials in two cases filed over cheque fraud of around Tk5.6 crore.
In November 2021, Phoenix Finance and Investments Ltd initiated its move to auction the company's mortgaged assets in Gazipur to recover default loans.
Appollo Ispat shares collapsed below Tk2.5 in 2020, from its debut peak of Tk41. Currently, its share is traded at Tk9.40 at the DSE.
