The recent weekly report by Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), the country’s main stock exchange, has come under scrutiny due to inaccuracies in the information presented. The report published last week showcased a list of top ten losers, but this time, there have been discrepancies in the percentage declines of certain companies compared to the previous reports. Notably, some companies with lower share losses were ranked at the top of the losers’ list, while those with higher declines were placed towards the end. This unexpected ranking has raised concerns among investors and the financial community.
According to the report, the highest percentage loss was recorded by Rupali Bank Limited, with a decrease of 11.08% in share value during the past week. Following closely, Al-Arafah Islami Bank Limited saw a decline of 0.42%, securing the second position in the top losers’ list. Shahjalal Islami Bank Limited ranked third, experiencing a 0.54% drop in share value. Union Capital Limited took the fourth spot with a decrease of 3.19% in share value, while the fifth position was occupied by CPIM IBBL Islamic Mutual Fund, which saw a decline of 8.33% in share value.
As per the standard practice, the DSE compiles and presents the list of top ten losers and gainers in terms of percentage changes in share prices. However, this time, the rankings on the losers’ list deviated from the norm, leading to confusion among investors.
DSE’s Managing Director, M. Saifur Rahman Majumdar, attributed the errors to a possible issue with linking the data in the Excel sheet used for the report. He assured that the matter would be investigated further to prevent such discrepancies in the future.
DSE’s Research Department, led by AM Mahfuzur Rahman, Assistant General Manager, disclosed that the loser’s list is linked to an Excel file (Microsoft Excel). However, there seems to be confusion as to whether there may be issues with the Excel link. Further investigation at the office is needed to ascertain the matter.
Mohammad Rezaul Karim, the Executive Director of the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC), stated that DSE will be responsible for confirming if any errors have occurred. In the event of inaccuracies, appropriate measures will be taken by BSEC to prevent such incidents in the future.
It is notable that this is not the first instance of misinformation leading to investor confusion by DSE. In previous instances, there have been multiple occurrences of providing erroneous data. For example, on January 31 of the current year, the financial report of Eastern Cables Limited was mistakenly published as a top loser, despite the company’s profit earnings. A similar incident was observed the following day when another listed company, Beach Hatchery Limited, had its financial report misrepresented.
