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Beximco shares grounded

SEC finds lack of information; market-crash fear on low-dividend offer; analysts see pressure tactics at play

M SHAMSUR RAHMAN
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) yesterday suspended trading of 11 Beximco companies listed on the bourses for not disclosing adequate price-sensitive information.
The companies facing suspension are Beximco Ltd, Beximco Syntehtics, Bd Online, Beximco Denims, Beximco Fisheries, Beximco Infusion, Beximco Knitting, Beximco Pharma, Beximco Textiles, Padma Textiles and Shinepukur Holdings.
The SEC has convened an emergency meeting with the companies on Thursday to discuss why they did not release proper information.
However, insiders said the SEC ordered the suspension to stop a market crash as these companies declared very low dividends, which the regulators feared would trigger price slide of these securities.
Since the Beximco companies make up 25 per cent of the market capitalisation, their combined dip would have shattered the market.
A senior SEC official said the companies have declared dividends far less than their ability.
Meantime, it has been learnt that Beximco has recently been turned down Tk 18 crore working capital from the Sonali Bank on the ground that the state-owned bank already has a huge exposure on the group. Moreover, the recent decision of the finance minister to stop cash subsidy to export-oriented industries also irked Beximco.
Market analysts say Beximco's decision to offer low dividend is a tactic to pressurise the government into rethinking its policies.
Beximco Group Director, finance and corporate affairs, Osman Kaiser Chowdhury, explained that Beximco mostly relied on income from its textile companies and it could not risk giving out handsome dividends as the finance minister has announced stoppage of cash subsidy to export-oriented industries.
"The government owes us Tk 70 crore in cash subsidy for the last 7-8 months. Now, we have decided to take a prudent policy to ensure smooth running of our companies," he said.
"We have also been refused working capital from the Sonali Bank," Chowdhury said, stating reasons for offering low dividends.
Meanwhile, the market witnessed panic selling amidst confusion because of the suspension. The day ended at the Dhaka bourse with only 12 gainers against 156 losers. The DSE general index shed 1.24 per cent, dipping to 763.704 points.
At around 12:30 the DSE top-10 volume leaders' window was short of four companies to display a full list.
"Investors were in a panic to sell off their stocks of Beximco companies as they found the dividends too
low to have a bearing on the securities' prices. They were faced with heavy loss," an analyst said.
He said investors' expectations were high as unaudited half-yearly balance sheets of the 11 companies reflected good earnings.
Talking to The Daily Star, SEC Chairman Maniruddin Ahmad said the 11 Beximco companies proposed dividends without announcing dates of book closure and annual general meeting as per the regulation about price sensitive information.
Although no shares of the 11 companies were traded on the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), the Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) received the suspension order a bit late and by the time it suspended trading, some six transactions of the companies were executed.
The trading included 100 shares of Shinepukur Holdings and 150 shares of Beximco Pharma.
Meanwhile, the SEC yesterday directed the 11 Beximco companies to immediately submit their balance sheets to check why they proposed such low dividends.
Beximco's Osman Kaiser Chowdhury declined to make any comment on the SEC charge of inadequate price sensitive information since a meeting has been scheduled for Thursday.
"We don't want to make any comment before the meeting," Chowdhury told The Daily Star.