Opex & Sinha Textile Group On the way to closing.

Opex & Sinha Textile Group is now one of the largest factories in Asia. Anisur Rahman Sinha is one of the pioneers in the field of readymade garments in the country. In 1964, he set up a garment factory through the Opex Group. Besides, Sinha also set up backward linkage industry in the garment sector through Textile Group. Built on 43 acres of land in Kanchpur, 20 km from Dhaka, his industrial enterprise is one of the largest in Asia in the field of textiles and garments.

Anisur Rahman Sinha caught the eye of western buyers in a short time through this huge industry group. At that time, the buyers were waiting to meet him day after day to order the work of the garment. If he did not have time to meet, many would collect his travel schedule. The goal was to talk about the purchase order if found alone on the plane. But everything is a fairy tale now. Once upon a time, many industrialists were created by doing sub-contracts or contract work of Opex-Sinha Group, but now this pioneering company is making its own way. Industry experts said that the lighthouse of the garment industry is now almost On the way to closing.

The information given by the government agencies has also been found to be true. According to the concerned department of the Ministry of Labor, only nine units are currently operational in the manufacturing complex of Opex and Sinha Textile Group in Kanchpur. At one time more than 45,000 workers worked in the Kanchpur units of that group but now this number has come down to 13 to 14 thousand. Not only that, the group has faced labor unrest in the last three years. Many old workers have been laid off. There have been allegations of arrears of salaries of regular employees more than once. There has been a recent factory lay-off. In the case of Kavid-19, the lay-off period of the factory which was lay-off till December 31 has been extended till February 21.

When asked, Anisur Rahman Sinha, chairman of Opex & Sinha Textile Group, told Banik Barta, “I have invested a lot.” Although the infrastructure is very strong, in the current situation, like everyone else, our business is going bad.

He said that people’s attitude towards spending money has changed, adding that there was a culture of wearing good clothes before, but now that culture is changing. Now people’s spending habits on technology products, especially electronics products, have increased. In other words, people have reduced the cost of buying clothes. Even after that we had nothing to fear. Bangladesh’s garment industry could have returned to its previous state if Kavid had not come and pushed. Corona has made a lot of things uncertain. The economy has been severely affected. We must survive in this time.

Asked about the factory lay-off, Anisur Rahman Sinha said, “Not everything, only a few people have fallen into the lay-off.” If there are ten lines, the lay-off is done only if there is less work in two lines.
Sources in the industry say that over the years, the Opex and Sinha textile group’s factories have been experiencing frequent problems. The workers used to put pressure on the authorities with various unreasonable and unreasonable demands. Although not mentioned in the law, Anisur Rahman Sinha was forced to give various benefits. This has made the financial situation of his organization worse. Now it is not possible to keep such a large production capacity fully operational. For Anisur Rahman Sinha, empire has now become a burden. It is not possible for him to bear this burden. Intoxicated with work, he undertook one expansion project after another. But now they are the cause of his frustration. He can’t find a way to get rid of the burden in any way. His back is also working. For this reason, the implementation of the plan to move to the only child in the UK is repeatedly delayed.

Anisur Rahman Sinha opened a business office across the borders of the country. Opex & Sinha Textiles also has offices in the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, China, Germany and the United States. The UK has a liaison office called Opex Fashion Limited. The company was launched in May 2010. He started the office with the aim of coordinating and expanding the work of all the big buyers in the world. His only child Tanzia Sinha is the chief executive. Opex Fashion UK claims that more than 140 factories in China and India, including Bangladesh, are used as production areas of Opex Fashion UK.
A leader in the garment industry owners’ association said large production capacity had caused major problems for the Opex and Sinha Group. He said that in order to use the full capacity of the units of Opex and Sinha Textile Group in Kanchpur, at least 1 to 1.5 crore pieces of garments would have to be made per month. But this big investment would not be a problem if there was work.

The business leader said Opex & Sinha Textile Group had many problems in the past but they were evident in the aftermath of the Rana Plaza collapse. The Accord Accord and the Alliance, which are engaged in factory evaluations, inadvertently further clouded the situation with building defects in Sinha’s factory units. Many big buyers used to work for Opex and Sinha. They begin to turn their backs on the violence of the Accord-Alliance. In addition to canceling huge orders, many products are stored in his factory.
At present, Anisur Rahman Sinha’s business has been made more difficult by debt liability. There were no large-scale bank loans before the Rana Plaza collapse. But after the Rana Plaza collapse, his bank debt has increased. Although it still has the capacity to take export orders, it is not possible without the cooperation of the bank. In this situation, the businessman has continued to try to restructure the classified loans.
Asked about the bank’s filing, Anisur Rahman Sinha said he did not want to comment on the company’s internal affairs.

Following the report’s findings, a senior official of Opex & Sinha Textile Group spoke on December 29. He told Banik Barta that most of the group’s factories in Kanchpur are now in a state of lay-off. However, factories are operating in Mirpur and Ashulia. The owner wants to open the closed factory. But it is not possible in the financial crisis. The group owes huge sums to several other banks, including the National Bank.
When contacted, a banker said that Anisur Rahman Sinha had three directorships in Bank Asia. He has sold one of them for Tk 80 crore to overcome the financial crisis. The leader of another big group in the garment sector has bought it. Opex & Sinha Textile Group was also responsible for Eastern Bank. Now the EBL authorities have transferred the liability to another bank due to the deteriorating financial situation.

A representative of the garment industry owners’ association told Banik Barta on condition of anonymity that Anisur Rahman Sinha had taken the initiative to sell the group he had formed more than once. Some other companies, including Reliance of India, have also examined the possibility of buying it. But the amount of investment becomes much larger with debt. And Mr. Anisur Rahman also does not want to leave at a lower price. That is why the buyer of such a big project could not be found even after trying.
The representative of the garment industry owners ‘association lamented that such an entrepreneur had to accept many unjust demands from the workers’ organizations and leaders. They are slowly forcing him to move away from production. Anisur Rahman Sinha was also wrong as an industrialist. The mismanagement of the manpower he has employed in the management of the factory is also one of the major causes of the present misery.

BSN Correspondent

Team  member of professional freelancer journalists.