DSE seeks urgent data on broker investments in Beximco shares

The Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), the country's premier bourse, has instructed all brokerage houses to urgently provide detailed information on investments in shares of Bangladesh Export Import Company, popularly known as Beximco Ltd.

Specifically, the bourse has asked brokerage houses to submit investment details of margin clients' shareholdings as well as investments held in stock dealer accounts.

The DSE on Tuesday (23 December) sent a letter to all brokerage houses, marking it as "most urgent," and asked them to submit the information within two working days.

The letter stated that the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) is currently conducting a comprehensive impact assessment, considering Beximco's significant market capitalisation and its potential systemic implications. In view of this, the commission has directed the exchange to collect and compile detailed information within the stipulated timeframe."

The share price of Beximco Ltd – owned by former prime minister's private industry adviser Salman F Rahman – has been stuck at the floor price of Tk110.10.

The floor price is a regulatory mechanism set by the BSEC, under which a company's share price cannot fall below a specified level.

In 2022, the BSEC imposed floor prices on all stocks for the second time due to economic uncertainties arising from the Russia-Ukraine war; the first such measure was introduced during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Although the BSEC has gradually lifted floor price restrictions for most listed companies, it has retained them for Beximco Limited and Islami Bank.

Since 2022, Beximco's shares have remained stuck at a floor price of Tk115.60. In November last year, the DSE revised the floor price to Tk110.10, following adjustments for the company's 5% stock dividend for FY24.

Beximco has been facing severe financial strain, as its business operations were significantly affected after the fall of the previous government last year.

The company now remains largely non-functional, having shut down its garments division in Gazipur and operating its textile division only partially, leading to declining revenue and mounting losses.

Beximco has yet to publish its nine-month and full-year financial statements for FY25.

Its six-month financials up to December 2024 showed revenue plunging to Tk415 crore, down sharply from Tk1,441 crore in the same period of the previous fiscal year. The company posted a loss of Tk356 crore, translating into a per-share loss of Tk3.78.

In FY24, Beximco incurred a loss of Tk35.87 crore and declared a 5% stock dividend for its shareholders.