KARACHI, Nov 6: Bela Engineers Limited — the company once in the business of manufacture and sale of Bedford brand of diesel engines for trucks and tractors, is up for sale: lock, stock and barrel.
A notice put up in the press by the Official Assignee of Karachi High Court on Saturday last, invites sealed tenders from interested parties for purchase of properties on “as is where is basis”. This includes: (i) complete plant and machinery of Bela Engineers Ltd, along with stock and spares of Bedford trucks and buses, furniture, fixtures, fittings etc., with free hold land bearing Survey No. 33, Hub Chowki, district Lasbela, Balochistan, measuring about 35 acres and the building constructed thereon and (ii) adjacent free hold land bearing Survey No. 35 measuring about 419 acres, also situated at Hub Chowki. Separate sealed tenders together with 10 per cent of the offered price is to be submitted by the noon of November 19. These would be opened the same day/time in the presence of parties.
Bela Engineers was incorporated as a private limited company in 1970 and named as “Ghandhara Diesels Limited”. It was nationalized in 1972.
A year later, the company sought listing at the Karachi Stock Exchange. It now stands on the ‘defaulters’ counter’ of the Exchange - the company having been marked for default on at least four counts. There is no trading in the Bela scrip, but the last quoted value for the 10-rupee share carried nearly 90 per cent discount.
It would be difficult for investors to recall when the company had disbursed the last profit and dividend. It could have been nearly 15 years ago at the end of June 30, 1986, when a pre-tax profit of Rs1.5 million was made and a dividend at 10 per cent was paid. That was perhaps the last of the profit and dividend that the shareholders were to see. In all the years since, the company has continued to post losses beginning with a deficit of Rs11.2 million in the year ended June 30, 1987. Against the paid-up capital of Rs34 million, the company now carries massive sums in debts and deficit.
Bela Engineers is understood to be in liquidation under the Court. It is also clear that being the owners, small shareholders would stand last in the queue, when the proceeds from sale of assets get to be distributed. Small shareholders who may still be holding on to their stake in Bela would be lucky if anything trickles down to them after all other interests including those of the major creditors, have been satisfied.
