The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is planning a series of meetings with state-owned public limited companies (PLCs) with a view to listing their shares with the bourses.

The first of the meetings is expected to be held on Sunday with the Bangladesh Gas Fields Company Limited which has a paid-up capital of 1 k 245 crore.

It is also planning to meet Titas Gas transmission and Distribution Company Ltd, having Tk 104 crore paid-up capital on April II and Sylhet Gas Field Company Ltd. having Tk 52 crore paid up capital on April 15.

The SEC officials say the commission has the authority to ask the stock exchanges to enlist the PLCs with the bourses.

Section 20 (A) of the SEC Ordinance also empowers the SEC to direct the PLCs to get listed.

As an initial step to get these

companies listed, we want to know their views on the issue," SEC Chairman Maniruddin Ahmad said.

Others say that in early 1994, a "Off-loading of Share Coordination Committee" was formed to develop the capital market by supplying adequate number of profitable securities to the market.

The committee in its first meeting decided (hat five to 10 per cent shares of the state-owned public limited companies with good fundamentals can be offloaded in the stock market.

It also agreed that the ministries owning the PLCs can take necessary steps for divestiture of government shares by informing the Finance Ministry'.

The committee decided that the Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources would expedite share offloading of Titas Gas and Bangladesh Gas Fields Ltd.

Hie Investment Corporation of

Bangladesh (K B) was also given the responsibility of working out the valuation, capital structure and related aspects of the SOEs prior to issuing their shares.

To review the implementation progress of the committee decisions, another meeting was held on October 6. 1996 under the chairmanship of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources secretary.

In the meeting, the ICB MD suggested offloading of 25 per cent shares of the two gas field companies -• Titas Gas and Bangladesh Gas Fields Ltd . It was also suggested that 15 per cent of the total shares of the PLCs be offloaded through the ICB, five per cent be kept reserved for employees, another five per cent for the nonresident Bangladeshis (NRBs) while the rest 75 per cent be offered for direct public subscription.

"Although there were different opinions regarding the modus

operand! of the share offloading, there was no disagreement that 25 per cent shares of the PLCs be sold off," the SEC has reminded the Finance Ministry last year.

Following the SEC’ reminder, the Power Wing of the Energy Ministry formed a committee in February this year comprising representatives of the Power Development Board and SEC for offloading the shares of the Power Grid Company of Bangladesh (PGCB), Dhaka Electric Supply Company (DESCO) and Rural Power Company (RPC) and other power companies which are in the process of formation.

The SEC chairman said there is a dearth of good shares in the stock market while the state-owned energy and power companies look lucrative to the investor.

"The government has already-decided to partly privatise these for which it is necessary' to enlist them with the stock exchanges,” he said.