Regulatory suspicion cause newly-listed stocks to suffer

Newly listed companies at the country's bourses continued to suffer losses on Thursday as the stock market regulator continued to probe the  unusual price hike of the debuting shares.

Of the top 10 losers, four were newly listed companies - Mir Akhter, EnergyPac, Robi and Walton - which saw their share prices decline as much as 10 per cent.

EBL Securities, in its daily market commentary, said that the new debutant stocks took the most beating followed by the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC)'s decision to investigate unnatural share price hikes observed in initial trading sessions.

The commission has already formed a two-member body to identify some orders placed for the shares of Mir Akhter Hossain.

The company made its debut trading on Tuesday, when it saw its share price jump 50 per cent. 

Share trading even halted at 50 per cent on the upper circuit as soon as the trading opened.

Mohammad Rezaul Karim, BSEC spokesperson, said that they will conduct a special inspection to probe into IDLC Securities' role behind Mir Akhter's share price hike.

Mir Akhter, founded in 1968, is among the top three companies in the infrastructure development sector in terms of capacity, which is why it has raised Tk 125 crore from the stock market to ramp up its capacity. 

The cut-off price of the shares was fixed at Tk 60 each after the bidding. General investors will get a 10 per cent discount on the cut-off price to buy it at Tk 54.

Each share of Mir Akhter fell by 9.98 per cent and closed at Tk 90.20 yesterday on the Dhaka bourse.

Energypac's share price, which traded at the bourses last month, fell 8.11 per cent to reach Tk 54.40 on Thursday.

Ever since Robi Axiata made its trading debut on December 24, its share price has been rising every day. But on Thursday, its share price fell 4.06 per cent and closed at Tk 44.90.

Walton Hi-Tech Industries made a flying debut as its share price jumped Tk 126, or 50 per cent, the highest allowable limit on debut trading.

On Thursday, Walton’s share fell to Tk 1,058.40 each on the Dhaka bourse.

The DSE started with an upward vibe and the morning optimism on selective large-cap issues helped the index to close in green terrain while the benchmark index DSEX, charged up by 65.80 points or 1.18 per cent to close at 5,648 points to end Thursday’s session.

Turnover decreased by 10.2 per cent and stood at Tk 713 crore.