Actor and businessman MA Ananta Jalil is considering selling part of his manufacturing facilities to repay mounting bank loans, as financial distress forces his industrial group to scale back operations, according to bankers.
Several of his factories have reportedly shut down amid unpaid bank loans worth hundreds of crores of taka. Efforts to secure fresh funding or rent out the factories have so far failed to produce results.
The latest setback came after Mutual Trust Bank (MTB) issued a legal notice to Ananta Jalil and his first wife, Khadija Parveen, demanding payment of Tk226.75 crore.
According to the notice, AB Apparels Limited took a term loan of Tk267.21 crore, which was rescheduled on 28 August 2024. On 18 October 2026, Ananta Jalil, the company’s chairman, issued a cheque to the bank, reportedly promising to repay part of the outstanding loan.
The cheque was dishonoured on 2 November due to insufficient funds.
The bank warned that it would take legal action against Ananta Jalil and Khadija Parveen if they failed to pay the amount within 30 days.
Ananta Jalil confirmed receiving the notice and said he was embarrassed by the dishonoured cheque, adding that a settlement had appeared within reach.
“I am really embarrassed by the legal notice and the bounced check; everything was on track to a good settlement,” he told TIMES.
He said he had borrowed nearly Tk200 crore during the Covid-19 pandemic to pay workers’ salaries and allowances despite a lack of business activity.
Interest on the loan had since pushed his liabilities to a substantial level, he said.
The group’s difficulties have also affected its gas supply. Titas Gas disconnected the gas connection to AJI Group over unpaid bills and allegations of gas theft.
MTB Managing Director and CEO Syed Mahbubur Rahman told TIMES that the bank’s total outstanding exposure to AJI Group was around Tk400 crore.
The apparel exporter had become irregular in loan repayments this year because of business difficulties, he said.
MTB has not yet filed a case with the money loan court, as it remains optimistic about reaching a settlement soon.
“The group is negotiating; we have been informed about some prospective buyers of its factory assets” Rahman said.
The group also has around Tk120 crore in loans, mainly for working capital, from Mercantile Bank, which have already become irregular.
A senior official of the bank said the group submitted proposals to repay bank loans with the proceeds from asset sale.
Ananta Jalil acknowledged his business difficulties but did not deny the reported efforts to sell factory assets.
“We don’t want to quit the business, we just want to switch to any state-owned bank,” he said, adding that the group had applied for loan regularisation under five Bangladesh Bank circulars to revive manufacturing.
“We will do whatever it takes to repay the existing loans from the private banks,” he said.
Ananta Jalil blamed the Covid-19 pandemic, the Russia-Ukraine war, large order cancellations and other adverse circumstances for the group’s financial difficulties.
He also said his efforts to support employees during the pandemic had added to the strain.
People close to him said he had approached local and foreign investors to keep the businesses running.
He also held discussions with several Chinese entrepreneurs, but none produced the response he had hoped for. Attempts to rent out the factories also proved unsuccessful.
Asked whether his involvement in films had contributed to the business crisis, Ananta Jalil did not directly answer.
A senior banker dealing with the group’s loans said that before his involvement with the film industry, the group’s business was growing that did not continue later.
He entered the garment industry by establishing AJI Group and gradually expanded through several industrial ventures. In 2010, he made his film debut with “Khoj: The Search,” starring alongside his wife, actress Afiea Nusrat Barsha. He later established AB Apparels Limited, appointing Barsha as its managing director.
At its peak, Ananta Jalil said, his apparel factories employed around 12,000 workers and generated annual revenue of up to $120 million.
“Now, I could retain only around 3,500 workers,” he said.
“Job creation and offering my employees a good life have long been a top agenda in my business career; I want to reestablish it,” he added.
