Meghna Petroleum, Jamuna Oil to offload 1.07 crore shares from today
Two state-owned enterprises listed with the Dhaka bourse will today start offloading additional shares as part of the government’s measure to increase the quantum of shares in the market.
The state-run Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation on Tuesday announced that it would offload more shares of two of its enterprises, Meghna Petroleum Ltd and Jamuna Oil Company Ltd, on the Dhaka Stock Exchange within 30 days.
The BPC said that it intended to sell 54,97,800 shares out of its total holdings of 3,23,39,994 shares of Meghna Petroleum, and 53,55,000 shares out of its total holdings of 3,14,99,994 shares of Jamuna Oil at the prevailing market prices within a month.
MD Fayekuzzaman, managing director of the Investment Corporation of Bangladesh which deals with the shares of the state-owned enterprises (SOE), told New Age that the sales of the shares of the companies would start from today.
The BPC had earlier offloaded 30 per cent of the total shares of the two companies which were listed with the Dhaka Stock Exchange in 2007.
Out of the total 4,85,10,000 shares of Meghna Petroleum, BPC holds 70 per cent, institutional investors 13.69 per cent and general investors 16.31 per cent. The BPC holds 70 per cent of the 5,40,00,000 shares of Jamuna Oil, institutional investors 15.04 per cent and general investors 14.96 per cent.
BPC’s chairman Muktadir Ali told New Age that they would offload an additional amount of 17 per cent shares of the companies as per the government’s directive.
‘Once we complete offloading of around 54 lakh shares of Meghna Petroleum and 53 lakh shares of Jumuna Oil by 30 days, the total amount of offloaded shares of the companies would reach 47 per cent,’ he said.
Officials of the finance ministry said that more shares of other listed SoEs, such as Titas Gas, Dhaka Electric Supply Company and the Power Grid Company of Bangladesh, would soon be offloaded after announcement on the DSE’s website.
They said that at least 16 other SoEs would be listed with the Dhaka and Chittagong bourse in the coming months.
The government last year announced the offloading of more shares of already listed companies and listing of other SoEs to increase the supply of securities to the booming capital market, but failed to do so because of bureaucratic red tape and obstruction by certain quarters.
Finance minister AMA Muhith on Thursday
disclosed that offloading shares of the listed
SoEs on the capital market was being held back because of the reluctance of ‘some people’.
‘I could not ensure the offloading of the shares within a month, but I am still trying,’ said the minister.
Muktadir told New Age that the BPC would soon list LP Gas Ltd with the bourse.
The other SoEs which are intended to be listed and whose shares offloaded include Bakhrabad Gas Transmission and Distribution Company, Telephone Shilpa Sangstha and Submarine Cables Company Ltd, Rupantarito Prakritik Gas Company Ltd, Pragati Industries Ltd, Chittagong Dry Dock Ltd, Biman Bangladesh Airlines Ltd, Bangladesh Cables Ltd, Essential Drugs Company Ltd, Teletalk Bangladesh Ltd, BTCL, Jalalabad Gas T&T System Ltd, West Zone Gas Company Ltd and Gas Transmission Company Ltd.
A number of stockbrokers told New Age that
the announcement of offloading of additional shares of Jamuna and Meghna had an immediate affect on Tuesday — the price of Jamuna’s shares declining by 3.91 per cent and Meghna Petroleum’s by 3.87 per cent.
The price of each of DESCO’s shares slid by 2.30 per cent, of Titas Gas by 1.80 per cent and Power Grid by 1.23 per cent.
‘The price of the SoE’s shares might fluctuate heavily because of increase in supply in the coming days,’ said a stockbroker.
-With New Age input
