Salai Holdings Pvt. Ltd, is limping back to life after it unilaterally opened its corporate head office in Imphal with the CJP Imphal not objecting to opening of its corporate office, which the CJM had sealed since November 2,nd 2019. Salai Holdings hopes that the NIA will also clear the deck for Salai Holdings to resume its businesses, by unfreezing its frozen accounts and assets very soon.
The private holding company with stakes in varied range of businesses such as manufacturing of consumer packaged goods (like Ate, Maida, Besan and edible oil), emu farming, retailing, hand-pick laundry, dry cleaning, solar energy, real estates development, constructions and micro financing had been in a limbo after the NIA (national investigation agency) froze all its bank accounts and assets after its former managing director and chairman, Narengbam Samarjit along with two others, on October 29, 2019, shocked Indian authorities by declaring Manipur as independent, announcing the formation of a de jure Manipur government in exile in London.
The Salai headquarters
The company has been suffering substantial losses over the 7-months shutdown of its assets and business operations by the NIA during its inquiry into cases of suspected terror funding and money laundering. The premier private company had also faced backlashes from its hundreds of promoters who had invested their savings on a monthly return on investment at the rate of 3?ter the company failed to obliged its contractual obligations due to the NIA shutdown.
Even as the ongoing Covid-19 SOP coupled with the ongoing NIA investigation are restraining the company to bounce back into operation, the private enterprise with unparalleled success story is not wasting time at its corporate office that was opened after seven months of being under lock and key on June 8th 202 and is drawing up new business strategies, designs, policies and programs for sustainability growth and progress.
FPSJ Review of Arts and Politics met Elangbam Brojendro Singh, the man who takes over the company as its new managing director to finds out more.
“I don’t consider my new position as a post but a responsibility to revamp, rebuild and achieve the growth rate Salai holdings had achieved before the freezing of our bank accounts,” said Brojendro Singh when asked for his reaction on assuming his new position.
Salai managing director Elangbam Brojendro Singh
The top executive of the company, known for his innovative ideas and strategy, says his priority is to kick start all of the company’s agro based manufacturing units at their existing business cycles; once that is achieved then the target would be to accelerate growth rate. He said that the immediate focus would be on the three flourmills and the edible oil refining units that the company has in Manipur and the food-processing unit in Assam at Tihu, Nalbari, the largest processing unit of the entire northeast region.
While admitting that the company is challenged by the unavailability of liquid capital for acceleration of growth rate, Brojendro Singh said he is hopeful of exploring and taking advantage of the various economic and financial schemes that are on the offing from the government of India as a measure to tide off the economic adversity of the Covid lockdown. He also confided that the company is not yet able to function in its full capacity due to the existing pandemic however he asserts that by July first week all of Salai holdings units will run full steam, observing all of the Covid SOP guidelines. To set the plan in action, the management will be meeting and consulting all of its stakeholders, including its franchises, retailers and promoters very soon, revealed the new managing director.
On the question regarding the concerns of the promoters who have deposited their savings, Salai holdings top executive said the company would not abandon its promoters and their capital would not be lost. However he added that since the company suffered for over seven months due to suspension of its operations, the promoters would be requested to share the company’s losses by foregoing their monthly returns for that period. Another impact of the NIA investigation is the compulsion to discontinue the existing promoters’ scheme and offer a new scheme altogether, one which fulfills all of RBI’s guidelines. The new Salai Holding Managing Director further assured all of the company’s promoters that their money invested in the company is safe and they will have the choice of either withdrawing their capital in full or earn a new monthly interest rate on the new scheme that the company will be announcing shortly after resumption of operation.
One unit of the Salai Mart chain in Imphal
When asked for his opinion on the NIA investigation and the losses his company is suffering because of it, Elangbam Brojendro said that while he understands that the investigation became necessary given the situation created by the former managing director and chairman’s controversial announcement from UK, he regretted that it is taking over seven months to clear the company of the doubts that the NIA was harboring, which was at a great expense to the company making it suffer huge losses. He said Salai Holding came into existence to contribute to the growth of Manipur’s stagnant economy and to a very large extent, it has boosted the economy by accelerating liquid capital flow, initiated ‘made in Manipur’ products, especially in the fast moving consumer packaged products and edible oils which had started to enter not only the local but markets of neighboring states of northeast.
“It is in the interest of the state that Salai Holdings survives by overcoming its current challenges. Salai Holdings is ready to bounce back with new policy and programs and new business models and designs. We appeal to all our stakeholders to keep the faith and walk with us for mutual gain and for the prosperity of the state as a whole,” said the upbeat Managing Director who hopes that the government expedite its investigation on the company and unfreezes its assets and accounts that is causing losses for the top notch private company of Manipur.
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