Stocks
Apex Foods or DSE: Who’s Concealing Information?
Allegations of insider trading have surfaced against Apex Foods Limited, a company listed on the stock market in the country. Recently, there has been a sudden surge in shareholding by the company’s executives, leading to speculation among market participants.
The company claims that the sudden increase in shareholding by more than 17 percent occurred due to the inclusion of the chairman’s wife in the board of directors. The matter has been brought to the attention of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) by the company. However, the DSE states that they have not received any information from the company regarding this issue. Investors are skeptical and uncertain about these developments, and the company’s shareholders are also expressing concerns.
Apex Foods has violated Section 1 of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s 2015 Law by failing to disclose sensitive information promptly. According to the directive, every listed issuer on the stock exchange must promptly notify the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission and the relevant stock exchange (if listed on both exchanges) in writing, signed by the Chairman, CEO, or Company Secretary, along with fax and special message delivery, or courier service if available, within thirty minutes of making any material price-sensitive information available or coming into effect. The information must also be published immediately in two widely circulated daily newspapers (one in Bengali and the other in English) and an online publication to ensure maximum dissemination.
On the other hand, investors have also accused Apex Foods of violating privacy by holding a board meeting on April 20 without informing them. Although there is a provision to inform the investors about the decision of the management board by April 20, the investors still do not know about the matter. In addition, the company’s share price has increased by Tk 141.50 or 46.22% as a percentage since the company’s board meeting.
The owners and directors of Apex Foods have not made any announcement regarding the increase in their shareholding, despite their ownership share in the company increasing. The Dhaka Stock Exchange website did not show any announcement from the company regarding the purchase of shares last month. However, it was suddenly discovered that the owners and directors had acquired a significant number of shares, although there was no explanation given on the DSE website.
When asked about this, the company’s secretary Kamrul Islam stated to the news media Orthosongbad that the owners and directors did not purchase any shares. Therefore, there is no such information available on the Dhaka Stock Exchange. However, the wife of the company’s chairman, Jafar Ahmed, held 17.33% of the shares. She was previously a regular shareholder but was recently included in the board of directors. As a result, her shares are now combined with those of the owners and directors.
He further stated that the matter of appointing the chairman’s wife to the company’s board of directors was communicated to the DSE two or three days ago. Although the information was conveyed to the DSE regarding the inclusion of the chairman’s wife in the board of directors of Apex Foods, it has not been publicized through the trading system by the exchange.
The Managing Director of the Dhaka Stock Exchange, Mr. M. Saifur Rahman Majumdar, stated that the DSE was not informed by the company about the appointment of new directors in Apex Foods. Only the shareholder position is reported to the DSE at the end of each month, and the shareholder position has been updated accordingly. Apex Foods will be blamed as to why the appointment of the new director was not informed to DSE.
According to sources, Apex Foods had a shareholding of 36.06% among the company’s directors and executives until June 30, 2022, as stated on the DSE website. The same amount of shares was also held by the company’s directors and executives in the following year’s March. However, based on the recent information provided to the Dhaka Stock Exchange and the Apex Foods website, the company’s directors and executives currently hold 30 lakh 44 thousand 450 shares, which accounts for 53.39% of the total shares. Therefore, there has been an increase of 17.33% in the shareholding of the company’s directors and executives within a month.
Dhaka Stock Exchange DSE, Bourse on the third working day of the week, 21th May, ended with a drop in Indices and gain in Turnover from the previous working session. This information is known from DSE sources.
591 crore 62 lakh taka shares were traded on this day. 152 crore 2 lakh more tradings were done in DSE today compared to the previous workday, 19th May , Shares worth Tk 561 crores 21 lakh shares were traded last time, Sunday
The benchmark DSEX lost 22.55 points or 5,371 The Shariah-based index DSES dropped 6.19 points or 1,174, and the blue-chip index DS30 decreased by 8.95 points or 1,929.
Of the issues traded, 102 advanced, 235 declined and 56 remained unchanged.
Prime Bank 1st ICB AMCL Mutual Fund ranked top gainer on DSE, the share price increased by Tk 0.30 paisa or 5.08 percent. On this day, the share was last traded at Tk 6.20 paisa.
Sikder Insurance Company Limited ranked top loser on the DSE, the share price dropped by Tk 0.90 paisa or 3.00 percent. On this day, the share was last traded at Tk 29.10 paisa.
DSE topped on trade is Orion Pharma Limited 43 crore 67 lakh takas of company shares have been traded.
A total of 39 companies’ shares were traded in the Block on Dhaka Stock Exchange. A total of 83 lakh 47 thousand 709 shares of the companies were traded. The financial value of which is 70 crore 48 lakh taka
The Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC), the regulatory authority for the stock market, has issued new guidelines for transferring listed companies to the Z category for non-compliance. From July 2, any listed company that violates specific conditions can be moved to the ‘Z’ category by the stock exchange.
On Monday (May 20), BSEC released these directives, outlining several conditions under which a company may be reclassified.
According to the guidelines, if a company fails to declare dividends for two consecutive years from the date of the last dividend declaration or from the date of listing on the stock exchange, it will be moved to the Z category. Additionally, failure to hold the annual general meeting (AGM) within the stipulated time as per law will result in the same action.
However, if an AGM is not held due to a court order or legal proceedings, this rule will not apply for up to two years, considering the extraordinary circumstances.
The guidelines also state that a company will be moved to the Z category if it ceases production for a continuous period of at least six months, except for periods allocated for restructuring or BMRE (Balancing, Modernization, Rehabilitation, and Expansion).
Furthermore, if the accumulated losses of a listed company exceed its paid-up capital, it will be transferred to the Z category.
Another condition includes failure to distribute at least 80% of the declared or approved dividends within the specified timeframe, leading to reclassification to the Z category by the stock exchange.
Trading of Z category shares will be settled on a T+3 basis.
These measures aim to ensure stricter compliance and maintain the integrity of the stock market.
The Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC), the regulatory authority for the stock market, has issued new directives for the trading of shares of companies listed on the Alternative Trading Board (ATB).
On Monday (May 20), BSEC released the guidelines, stating that for the first trading day, the circuit breaker will be set at 5% above the fair value, as determined by Schedule A, Appendix 2 of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) and Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) regulations. If no trades occur within the first six months, the selling broker will initiate an offer based on a price set by the seller.
In cases where there are no trades, the seller can set any offer price, provided it does not exceed the fair value calculated under Schedule A, Appendix 2.
From the second transaction onward, the regular circuit breaker will be 5% above the previous day’s closing price or the open adjusted price.
Additionally, the value of shares traded on the ATB cannot exceed 30% above the fair value at any time.
All equity securities traded on the ATB platform will be settled on a T+4 basis.
A listed security issuer will not be eligible for listing on the ATB if the company has increased its paid-up capital by issuing bonus shares from retained earnings within the two years prior to the application date to the stock exchange.
Before and after listing on the ATB, the issuer’s most recent financial statements must be audited by a panel of auditors as declared by the stock exchange for ATB listing.
These directives override provisions of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (Alternative Trading Board) Regulation, 2022, and clauses (e), (f), and (g) of sub-regulation 9 of the Chittagong Stock Exchange (Alternative Trading Board) Regulations.
The new guidelines are effective immediately.
