Imam Button stock soars 40% in 7 trading days

The share price of Imam Button Industries Ltd – a Chattogram-based concern of the Imam Group which has been out of operations for a long time – has jumped by 40% at the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) in seven trading sessions. 

On 22 May, the company's share price was Tk82.8 which soared to Tk116 apiece on 31 May. 

Because of this unusual increase in share price, the Dhaka bourse wrote to the company seeking an explanation. To the DSE's query letter, Imam Button replied that there was no undisclosed price sensitive information, and no possibility of starting operations anytime soon either. 

According to market insiders, the securities regulator reconstructed the company's board in a move to bring it back to operations. Hence, investors poured their fund into Imam Button shares in hopes that it will resume operations soon. 

Therefore, after the company's query response, its share price dropped by nearly 8% at the DSE last Thursday. 

In February this year, the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) appointed Professor Mohammad Sogir Hossain Khandoker, Md Mahamud Hosain, and Mohammed Masum Iqbal as independent directors at the company.

At the same time, the regulator had asked the newly-appointed independent directors to nominate two shareholder directors from investors owning a minimum 2% of the company's shares.

In compliance with the order, the company on Saturday reconstituted the board of directors and elected Professor Mohammad Sogir Hossain Khandoker as chairman and ASM Hasib Hasan as its managing director.

Imam Button, which was incorporated in 1994, got listed on local bourses in 1996. It is classified as a "Z" category company at the DSE as it has failed to pay dividends to its shareholders since that year.