A group of retail investors staged protests in front of the Dhaka Stock Exchange, urging the Securities and Exchange Commission to intervene in the market for the sake of stability.

They demonstrated for the 12th time this year, protesting an unusual fall in share prices.

Small investors, under the banner of Bangladesh Share Investors' Association (BSIA), took to the streets, seeking a final solution to the stockmarket troubles.

The benchmark General Index of Dhaka Stock Exchange finished the day at 4,645 points, after falling 70 points or 1.48 percent.

Investors urged the SEC to take action to stop directors' aggressive sell-offs. They also asked the regulator to give one month to sponsors and directors to comply with the mandatory share holding directive of SEC.

Mizanur Rashid Chowdhury, president of BSIA, said the regulator should remove those directors, who have shares below 2 percent, from the boards of their companies.

“It is apparent that participation of investors dropped significantly, as they were apprehensive about the ongoing writ petition issues on minimum shareholding and adopted a 'wait-and-see' approach,” IDLC Investments said in its daily market commentary.

Turnover rose 6.16 percent to Tk 183 crore, compared to the previous day. A total of 0.059 lakh trades were executed with 3.9 crore shares and mutual fund units changing hands on the Dhaka bourse.

Lafarge Surma Cement continued to be the most traded stock for the second consecutive session with a turnover of Tk 16.49 crore followed by Grameenphone with Tk 88.9 crore in turnover.

Purabi General Insurance was the biggest gainer of the day, as it posted an 8.25 percent rise.

First Security Islami Bank featured among the top ten losers after the adjustments made for its record date on Sunday.

Of the 258 issues that traded on the DSE, 200 declined, 35 gained and 23 issues remained unchanged.

All sectors declined: non-bank financial institutions lost 2.79 percent, banks 1.16 percent, power 1.31 percent, pharmaceuticals 1.09 percent, and telecoms 0.74 percent.

The Daily Star/ Bangladesh/ 29-May-2012

UCB Securities Ltd and Mrs. Shoma Alam Rahman & Ahsan Imam have entered into an agreement to transfer entire shares of Mrs Shoma Alam & Mr. Ahsan Imam of Maryellen Capital Management Ltd. to UCB Securities Ltd and its parent company. Mr. Lutfur Rahman Badal, business leader, Mr. Shafiqul Alam, Additional Managing Director, UCB; Mr. Mirza Mahmud Rafiqur Rahman, Deputy Managing Director, UCB were present at the signing ceremony.

Financial Express/ Bangladesh/ 27-May-2012

The benchmark index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) went down last week for a third straight week as investors confidence eroded following fresh petitions challenging securities regulator’s directive on minimum shares holding.

Stock market analysts opined that the market witnessed downward move last week as investors’ confidence deteriorated due to fresh legal challenges of the minimum share holding by company directors in the High Court (HC).

During the week, the DGEN General Index of the premier bourse plunged 194 points or 3.88 per cent to close at 4,798 points.

The broader All Shares Price Index (DSI) also declined 158 points or 3.76 per cent to close at 4,055 points while the DSE-20 Index comprising blue-chip shares lost 117 points or 3.07 per cent to 3,680.

Meanwhile, a group of small stock investors staged demonstration in front of the DSE Building and blasted the SEC as they alleged that the market regulator had not taken its next course of action to compel directors to buy minimum shares as per its previous directive. They also blamed the SEC for the downtrend and cloudy situation in the market.

The week’s total turnover value came down to Tk 14.64 billion last week compared to Tk 17.87 billion in the previous week.

The average daily turnover value also went down and stood at Tk 2.92 billion which was 18.04 per cent lower compared to previous week’s Tk 3.57 billion.

The Daily Sun/ Bangladesh/ 27-May-2012

The board of directors of Brac Bank has recommended rights share for the existing shareholders to raise its paid up capital.

The company will offer rights share at a ratio 1:2 - one rights share for every two shares held - at an issue price of Tk. 25 each including a premium of Tk. 15 per share on paid up capital subject to the approval of EGM and regulatory authorities.

The Bank will offer rights share to increase paid up capital to meet Bangladesh Bank Basel II requirements. As per the BB order a bank must have Tk 400 core as paid up capital. Existing paid up capital of Brac Bank is Tk 385.5 core.

The company has fixed record date for EGM on May 29, 2012, while the EGM will be held on June 28.

Another record date for entitlement of the proposed rights share will be notified later after obtaining approval from SEC. Venue of the EGM to be notified later.

The Daily Sun/ Bangladesh/ 21-May-2012

Finance Minister AMA Muhith speaks at a consultative committee meeting on the national budget 2012-13 at a hotel in Dhaka Thursday.

Finance Minister AMA Muhith on Thursday said the government would continue to allow investment of black money in the stock market throughout the next fiscal.

“There is a provision in the Income Tax Act which allows legalising black money. We are working to make the provision more effective,” Muhith said.

He also said the government would provide incentives to four sectors including skilled labour, maize cultivation, seed production and poultry industry considering their prospects.

The minister was addressing a consultative committee meeting on the national budget 2012-13, jointly organised by the National Board of Revenue (NBR) and Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) at a hotel in the city.

“The existing facilities for the stock market investors will remain the same. Some reformations in the stock market including demutualisation will also be initiated,” Muhith said.

FBCCI President AK Azad earlier opposed the opportunity to legalise black money by paying 10 percent tax. “It will discourage the regular tax payers. If the government decides to allow whitening black money, higher monetary fines should be realised in this process. Otherwise, it will cast negative impact on revenue earning,” AK Azad said.

FBCCI placed a 448-point proposal including 194 points on import tax affairs, 107 on Value Added Tax (VAT) and 147 on income tax affairs for the upcoming national budget at the meeting. While addressing the meeting, the finance minister said though the government intends to promote local industry, it would also keep an eye on imports since the country is unable to fulfill the demands for many goods by its own.

“We are working to create a balanced environment for both the manufacturers and importers by imposing taxes on production, assembling and final products,” Muhith pointed out. He said the government would set a target to lower the inflation to 7.5 percent in the next fiscal from existing 9 percent.

Muhith said they expect the economic growth to be 7.2 percent in the upcoming fiscal, which is 6.7 percent in the current fiscal.

“I think our expectation is not so high considering our growth in the last few years,” he added.

The finance minister expressed his firm hope to start construction of the Padma Bridge within the next fiscal year.

“There is no doubt that the construction of the bridge will be started within the next fiscal. Nothing to worry about financing,” Muhith said. He said the pre-shipment inspection (PSI) system for imported goods will be abolished within the next seven months to make customs activities more convenient for the businessmen. Muhith, however, said the some products would still be scanned under the PSI system.

NBR chairman Dr Nasir Uddin Ahmed presided over the meeting, which was also attended by lawmaker Golam Dastagir Gazi, FBCCI senior vice president Md Jasim Uddin, vice president Mostafa Azad Chowdhury Babu, former president Md Akram Hossain, former senior vice president Abul Kashem, Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industries (DCCI) President Asif Ibrahim, BGMEA President Shafiul Islam Mahiuddin and Exporters Association of Bangladesh President Salam Murshedi.

The Daily Sun/ Bangladesh/ 18th May 2012