Ahsan Habib

Stock prices of Pragati Life Insurance were not adjusted on the trading board of Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) yesterday despite issuance of right shares, causing the securities to change hands at a higher price.

The Covid-19 outbreak has showed clearly how poorly Bangladesh’s stock market was digitally prepared to fight a pandemic like this.

The stock price of Pragati Life Insurance was not reduced despite issuance of right shares and it was traded on the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) trading board today at over its new price.

GPH Ispat, a listed steel manufacturing company, witnessed a jump in share prices after news broke that its new Tk 2,390 crore plant began production using state-of-the-art technology on a trial basis.

How does a stock join the ranks of its priciest peers in a bourse? Undoubtedly pegging on the company’s earnings, assets, potentiality and brand value.

The Padma Oil Company, a statutory organisation under the power, energy and mineral resources ministry, has stepped forward to make liquid petroleum gas (LPG) more available as a primary fuel source for vehicles in Bangladesh.

HeidelbergCement Bangladesh, the German cement maker, has been incurring losses since the second quarter of 2019 due to fierce competition in the market, higher prices of clinker, the imposition of advance income tax and higher interest cost.

Despite a significant drop in interest income, Rupali Bank’s profits jumped last year as higher investment in treasury bills and bonds saved the day.

Rani Marka Dheutin (corrugated iron sheets) once ruled the roost in rural Bangladesh.

It seems the junk stock are walking all over the market in the last few days: the index was going whichever direction they were heading.

Only one out of the 28 non-listed insurance companies offloaded shares even though Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal in September last year warned that their licences will be cancelled if they fail to go public within three months.

Stock prices of listed drug makers rose more than the benchmark index of the Dhaka bourse during the last three months thanks to optimism about higher profits of the companies during the pandemic.

The plan to offload an additional 15.2 per cent shares of state-run Rupali Bank has been revived after a delay caused by the coronavirus pandemic and the lender’s preoccupation in disbursing stimulus packages.

The Dhaka Stock Exchange is coming to the rescue of stockbrokers as the premier bourse is set to increase their share buying capacity without the need to keep security deposits.

Investors suffered yesterday as they were unable to access information on time as the website of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) was slow to load.

The stock market regulator has asked all listed companies to inform it whether they are lending to their associated and sister companies at the expense of general investors, in another bold step from the new top brass.

Listed banks increased their investment in government and corporate bonds, securities and stocks in the second quarter of 2020 to offset the loss in interest income caused by the ceiling on lending rates.

AB Bank has put the factory of Aman Feed and its collateral on sale for its failure to pay Tk 268.40 crore in loans and interest within the sanctioned timeframe of July.

ACI Motors is set to secure an equity-based foreign investment of Tk 126 crore from two companies as it landed its first foreign investment.

The stock market has started to bounce back despite the ongoing pandemic thanks mainly to investors’ growing confidence in the new leadership at the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) as they took some measures to restore discipline.