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CDBL looks to go public next year

Sarwar A Chowdhury
Central Depository Bangladesh Limited (CDBL), which operates electronic share transactions centrally, now plans to go public soon after its annual general meeting in December.
“Almost every country's Central Depository System or CDS operator in the world is listed on bourses. Our operator, CDBL, is a profitable entity and the stakeholders are now thinking about initial public offerings,” Rakibur Rahman, a member of the CDBL board of directors, told The Daily Star.
Rahman, also the Dhaka Stock Exchange president, said such IPO will cater to quality share needs of the market crying for new issues, to some extent.
However, a CDBL high official points to a very early stage of the IPO plan. “ The issue will be raised at the company's next AGM by the year-end,” he said.
CDBL's existing paid-up capital is Tk 34 crore. The company gave 25 percent cash dividend to its shareholders on a net profit of Tk 34.80 crore for the year ended June 30,2008.
It was formed on August 20, 2000 and sponsored by state-owned banks, Investment Corporation of Bangladesh (ICB), private local and foreign banks, merchant banks, publicly listed companies, insurance companies and Dhaka and Chittagong stock exchanges in collaboration with Asian Development Bank.
The company's core services cover efficient delivery, settlement and transfer of securities through computerised book entry system such as recording and maintaining securities accounts and registering transfer of securities, changing ownership without any physical movement or endorsement of certificates and execution of transfer instruments.
The CDS operated by CDBL has proved to be a convenient and reliable means to settle securities transaction. The system gives a relief to investors from hassles of physical handling of certificates, errors in paper work and the risks associated with damaged, lost and forged certificates.
CDBL's operations are carried out in its main data centre', which is linked to a remote 'disaster recovery centre' that operates as a backup with data update taking place simultaneously. Network connectivity to depository participants, issuers, banks, stock exchanges and Bangladesh Bank is through 'front end' interfaces accessed by WAN link and dialup telephone lines.
CDS live operations commenced with Electronic Government Securities Registry (EGSR) on October 20,2003. The EGSR also serves as a platform for secondary market sale and purchase as well as Repo transactions of government securities to the commercial banks that went online.
Eliminating physical certificate of security ownership by substituting it as an electronic book entry record in the CDS commenced on January 24, 2004 with the entry of Square Pharmaceuticals Limited into the CDS.
sarwar@thedailystar.net