Beximco Group is seeking regulatory approval for a proposed $23 million investment by British and Chinese companies to restart a closed garment factory in Bangladesh, in a move that could offer a new model for putting distressed industrial assets back into production without building a new facility.
British company Charter HCP Ltd and Chinese firm Besting Ltd plan to invest in Prefix Fashions Ltd at Beximco Industrial Park in Kashimpur, Gazipur, under a proposed five-year leasing arrangement, according to Beximco officials and Revival Global, which is acting as asset manager for the investors.
Beximco officials are due to meet the chairman of Invest Bangladesh on Oct. 11 to discuss the proposed structure. The leasing or profit-sharing arrangement will require approval from Invest Bangladesh and Bangladesh Bank before it can proceed.
If approved, Prefix Fashions could resume production in April 2027, with jackets expected to account for about 90% of output. The factory would initially employ around 2,500 workers, the officials said.
The investors expect the factory to generate garment exports worth about $500 million within two to three years of restarting operations, with Besting’s international retail and brand network expected to help secure orders.
Export-linked repayment model
The proposal is notable because it seeks to revive an existing manufacturing facility rather than finance a new factory.
Under the proposed arrangement, the foreign investors would lease the facility from Beximco for five years. Export proceeds would be routed through banks holding liens over the factory’s assets, with agreed loan repayments deducted directly from export earnings.
The structure is designed to ring-fence the repayment process from Beximco’s wider financial obligations, according to officials involved in the proposal.
That mechanism could be important given Beximco’s substantial debt burden. The group’s total bank debt has been reported at more than Tk40,000 crore, including Tk29,925 crore against 32 factories at Beximco Industrial Park. Janata Bank alone has reportedly been owed more than Tk23,285 crore.
The debt burden has been a major obstacle to restarting Beximco’s shuttered factories. The group’s 16 textile and garment units were closed following prolonged financial and operational difficulties, leaving tens of thousands of workers without employment. The government also allocated more than Tk525 crore in 2025 to clear wages and other service benefits for workers and officials of 14 Beximco units.
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Potential model for other factories
Prefix Fashions is one of 16 textile and garment units at Beximco Industrial Park. If the proposed model proves commercially viable, Beximco plans to use it to reopen the remaining 15 units in phases.
Company officials estimate that such a programme could eventually restore employment for more than 30,000 workers.
The proposal comes as Bangladesh’s apparel export sector shows signs of recovery. Merchandise exports increased 6.34% year on year to $13.09 billion in July-September, while ready-made garment exports rose 6.10% to $10.58 billion. In September alone, RMG exports increased 8.56% to $3.08 billion, according to Export Promotion Bureau data.
The broader export recovery could provide a more favourable environment for restarting idle production capacity, although the success of the Beximco plan will depend on securing sufficient orders, working capital, regulatory clearance and a structure acceptable to lenders.
For Beximco, the proposed investment is therefore more than a factory-reopening exercise. It is an attempt to separate the operation of a productive industrial asset from the group’s wider financial liabilities while using future export earnings to support debt repayment.
If approved and successfully implemented, the Prefix Fashions arrangement could become a practical example of how foreign capital, existing factory infrastructure and export-linked financing can be combined to revive distressed manufacturing capacity in Bangladesh.
The Oct. 11 meeting with Invest Bangladesh will be an important step in determining whether the proposed model can move from a restructuring plan to actual production.