Shahjalal Islami Bank sues Regent Textile to recover Tk140cr loan

Shahjalal Islami Bank has recently filed a case against the publicly listed Regent Textile Mills Limited to recover Tk139.5 crore it had lent to the textile miller.

The bank's Chattogram branch filed the case under the Money Loan Court Act, 2003.

Back in 2017, Regent Textile borrowed Tk80 crore at a 9% interest rate for 11 years, with a two-year moratorium. The company took the loan to build a new textile unit. But owing to a slump in its business, the company failed to pay instalments.

Seeking anonymity, a Shahjalal Islami Bank official said, "Regent Textile has not been paying the loan instalment for a long time. We issued several letters to recover the money but the company hasn't repaid."

Regent Textile's Managing Director Salman Habib could not be reached over phone as his mobile was switched off.

In April this year, US business conglomerate Wilmington Trust Company filed an application against the Chattogram-based Habib Group's Regent Textile and its 11 associates for liquidation due to non-payment of aircraft rentals.

Regent Textile got listed on the stock exchanges in 2015. It had raised Tk125 crore through selling 5 crore shares at Tk25 each, including Tk15 premium.

It failed to pay any dividend to the shareholders since the 2019-20 fiscal year and could not even publish the financial statements from the fiscal 2020-21.

Its shares are stuck on the floor price at Tk9.8 each at the Dhaka Stock Exchange.