Ahsan Habib

High taxes on asset transfers act as the main obstacle to creating a vibrant Sukuk market in the corporate sector, according to market intermediaries.

The start of the Covid-19 vaccine rollout in the UK and the US cheered institutional investors around the world, allowing global stock markets to end higher last week and Bangladesh was no exception.

Nearly half of the listed state-run companies have been incurring losses for many years due to a lack of competitiveness, in turn affecting stock investors.

Banks are going to invest an additional Tk 1,350 crore in the stock market by utilising Bangladesh Bank’s incentive, a development that will likely to boost both liquidity flow and investor confidence.

Foreign investors’ participation in Bangladesh’s stock exchanges has been on the decline for the last several months as the second wave of the pandemic started taking its toll on global markets.

The stock market index had been on an upward curve last week with pharmaceuticals in the lead as investors bought the sector’s stocks in hopes of higher future returns amid the threat of a second wave of the pandemic.

Shyampur Sugar Mills recently announced that it would stop sugarcane processing for the rest of the current fiscal year, a development that has left its stock investors in a state of uncertainty.

Stock market regulator has written to the police to take initiatives so that six directors of three listed companies cannot flee the country.

Listed drug makers saw their profits rebound in the first quarter (July-September) of the ongoing fiscal thanks to an increase in the number of healthcare seekers.

Atlas Bangladesh, a motorcycle assembler and distributer, has been sinking deeper into losses ever since fiscal 2015-16 when its agreement with Hero Honda came to an end.

The directors of 28 listed companies have failed to hold at least 30 per cent shares of their companies collectively within the November 30 deadline set by the regulator.

Olympic Industries, a listed manufacturer and retailer of consumer goods, is set to enhance its biscuit production capacity by more than 10 per cent.

The ice-cream industry was getting ready for their busiest season of the year in March. But instead of hauling in record sales, the industry witnessed its steepest lean period because of the coronavirus pandemic as people opted to stay indoors mostly.

Insurance companies made higher profits in the January-September period despite the coronavirus pandemic aided by the lowering of the commissions they offer to agents to secure businesses.

Eastern Bank’s profits almost doubled year-on-year in the July-September quarter despite lower interest income amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Some rogue institutional investors are jeopardising the way prices are determined for stocks for their launch in the stock market, detrimentally affecting general investors.

Paramount Textile is set to buy an 80 per cent stake in Intraco Solar Power for around Tk 60 crore in a bid to enter the renewable energy market.

The biggest initial public offering in Bangladesh’s history will make a major step forward today as investors would be able to bid for the shares of Robi-Axiata.

The profits of most of the listed apparel companies tumbled in the July-September quarter due to the collapse in demand abroad amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Most of the listed non-bank financial institutions (NBFIs) posted higher profits in the July-September quarter thanks to the lower provisioning regime amid the ongoing pandemic.