CSE’s application to list 35% shares on DSE rejected
The Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) has had its application to list 35% of its blocked shares on the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) rejected.
On Tuesday, the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) made this decision during its meeting, according to an official press release.
The main reasons for the rejection include a prohibition on the direct listing of shares of companies other than government-owned enterprises on the stock exchange. Additionally, the proposed method of offloading shares—20% through private placement and 15% through public placement—conflicts with the provisions of the Exchanges Demutualization Act, 2013.
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Furthermore, the applicant lacks an operating profit from its core business. The application was also incomplete, missing required supporting documents such as the information document (prospectus), and copies of the board of directors' meeting and shareholders' general meeting resolutions were not submitted.
Due to these reasons, the application to list CSE's shares on the DSE was not accepted. No official comments have yet been made by the relevant authorities regarding this decision.
Earlier, on 31 July, the Chittagong Stock Exchange sought approval from the BSEC to offload its remaining 35% blocked shares and list on the Dhaka Stock Exchange, aiming to complete the demutualisation process after more than a decade.
Under the plan, 20% of the shares were to be offered to four or five reputed foreign or local institutions that are neither existing shareholders nor connected parties. The share price would be determined by the CSE board subject to BSEC approval. The remaining 15% was planned to be offered to the general public through a specially designed book-building process. As part of this initiative, CSE was also to be listed on the DSE.
CSE Managing Director M Shaifur Rahman Mazumdar previously told The Business Standard that the board had decided to move forward with the listing process. "Once we receive regulatory consent, we can proceed with the matter," he said.
He added that the Demutualisation Act requires a stock exchange to be listed either on its own board or on the board of another exchange. There is no fixed deadline for such listing, but it must have the approval of both the board and the BSEC. Currently, there are no self-listing regulations for stock exchanges.
