BSRM, Acme Labs, Power Grid join DSE elite club as Linde, Unique Hotel exit
The latest semi-annual review of the Dhaka Stock Exchange's flagship index also reignited concerns over the continued inclusion of companies facing regulatory compliance and disclosure issues, prompting calls for stricter eligibility criteria.
Highlights:
- BSRM, Acme Labs, Power Grid join DS30
- Linde, Unique Hotel, Kohinoor Chemicals exit
- Changes take effect from 19 July
- Compliance loopholes in index draw criticism
The Dhaka Stock Exchange has finalised its semi-annual rebalancing of the DS30 index, the premier "elite club" of investable stocks on the country's main bourse.
In the latest review, steel giant BSRM Limited, pharmaceutical leader The Acme Laboratories Limited, and the state-owned Power Grid Company of Bangladesh Limited have secured their positions among the top 30 stocks. These new entrants will replace Kohinoor Chemicals, Unique Hotel and Resorts, and the multinational industrial gas supplier Linde Bangladesh Limited.
The reshuffle, which is scheduled to take effect from 19 July, is based on a rigorous index methodology developed in 2013 in collaboration with S&P Dow Jones Indices, said the DSE in a press release today (12 July).
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The rebalancing is conducted twice a year to ensure that the index accurately reflects the most liquid and fundamentally sound companies available to investors, according to the DSE.
Market insiders noted that the DS30 serves as a critical benchmark for both domestic and foreign institutional investors, helping them identify the most reliable "investable" scrips in an often-volatile market.
To qualify for the DS30 index, a company must meet several stringent criteria. These include maintaining a minimum free-float market capitalisation of Tk50 crore and an average daily turnover of at least Tk50 lakh over the preceding three months. For companies already residing within the index, the turnover requirement is slightly relaxed to Tk30 lakh to maintain stability.
Furthermore, any candidate for the blue-chip index must have posted a positive net profit over the latest 12-month period. To ensure sectoral diversity, the DSE also limits the number of companies from a single sector to a maximum of five.
How non-compliant firms placed in DS30
The presence of certain non-compliant firms in the DS30 list has raised concerns among market participants regarding the integrity of the index.
For instance, Fine Foods Limited remains a member of the DS30 despite its sponsors and directors holding only 13.92% of the company's shares – far below the regulatory mandate of 30% for all listed firms.
Similarly, LankaBangla Finance has retained its spot in the elite club despite a significant lack of financial transparency. The non-bank financial institution has not published any financial statements since September 2025, leaving investors in the dark regarding its performance for the full year of 2025 and the first two quarters of 2026.
A managing director of a prominent brokerage firm told TBS that while investors traditionally trust the blue-chip index, the inclusion of companies with poor track records or compliance failures can be misleading.
He pointed out that this lack of qualitative screening is a primary reason why many professional fund managers choose not to follow the DS30 index strictly when building their portfolios.
He argued that an index meant to represent the best of the market should not harbour companies that flout basic listing and transparency regulations.
Responding to these criticisms, a senior officer of the DSE, speaking on condition of anonymity, explained that the bourse is currently bound by the mathematical model provided by S&P Dow Jones.
According to him, if a company meets the market cap, turnover, and profitability numbers defined in the 2013 methodology, the system automatically includes them.
He noted that the current methodology does not provide a specific timeframe for quarterly earnings valuations, which allows a firm like LankaBangla Finance to remain in the index based on historical data.
However, he revealed that the DSE is aware of these loopholes and is considering consulting with stakeholders to modify the index rules to incorporate stricter compliance and corporate governance standards in the future.
The DS30 index, which launched with a base value of 1,000 points in 2013, remains the most-watched indicator of large-cap performance in Bangladesh.
