Ahsan Habib

Almost all listed pharmaceutical companies in Bangladesh logged higher profits in July to September thanks to higher sales as people shook off coronavirus fears to avail treatments and the lower cost of bank finances.

Japanese multinational conglomerate SoftBank Group Corporation is going to buy a 20 per cent stake in bKash, which could give a further push to the fast-expanding mobile financial service industry in Bangladesh.

Closure, resumption, and closure. This is what described Aziz Pipes in the last 10 months in a nutshell.

Deshbandhu Group invested around Tk 800 crore in the last one year despite the business uncertainty caused by the coronavirus pandemic as it looks to expand its footprint in the overseas markets.

Most listed multinationals logged higher profits during this year’s July-September quarter, compared to the same period a year ago, riding on increased sales in the last two months of the quarter following a three-week countrywide lockdown in July.

Listed banks in Bangladesh posted higher profit in the January to September period on the back of higher income from their investment in the stock market, a pick-up in credit demand and lower expenses.

Bangladesh’s telecom sector is expected to thrive in the current decade on the back of a spike in demand for mobile data, according to a new report.

Shares of Hamid Fabrics surged 67 per cent on the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) yesterday even after reporting huge losses earlier on the day.

Stocks of Delta Life Insurance Company Limited have tripled in value over the past six months even though the company reported lower revenue in its recent financial disclosure, raising concerns among analysts that manipulation might be taking place behind the scenes.

Production of Emerald Oil, a listed rice bran oil producer, has discontinued since 2017, so it has been incurring losses every year since then. But its stock has risen a staggering 223 per cent in the last one year.

The trading of treasury bonds began in the secondary market of the Dhaka Stock Exchange yesterday, ending a wait of more than a decade and creating one more investment tool for the retail investors reliant only on shares and mutual funds.

A company’s way of raising funds should be determined by analysing its financial statements so that its sustainability does not face any threat, said Tanzim Alamgir, managing director of UCB Investments, a merchant bank.

NRB Bank has incurred a loss of Tk 103 crore as it intentionally became involved in unethical trading practices in the stock market to favour gamblers, which weakened the financial health of the lender and put depositors’ money at risk.

A steep rise in debt and a fall in sales have sent Meghna Condensed Milk, a listed concern of Meghna Group of Industries-KA (MGOLD) Ltd, into the stock market’s non-performing category.

The stock market regulator’s initiatives such as roadshows in various countries to bring in investments appear to have produced no significant positive outcome as foreign investors reduced their stakes in the listed companies to book profits.

The government has cut the interest rate on savings certificates and wage-earner bonds by 1 to 3 percentage points – a move that may help the authorities save but hurt the middle-income group dependent on the returns to make a living.

The stock market’s recent growth spurt slowed last week as the tension between the central bank and the stock market regulator over some policy issues has rattled investors.

Bangladesh Bank yesterday fined NRB Bank Tk 49.50 lakh for breaching securities rules by buying the shares of Pioneer Insurance beyond the investment ceiling.

Last week will certainly remain memorable for the stock market, with its indexes reaching record levels every day while market capitalisation a historical high over the five-day period.

There is an ongoing debate in the share market whether securities on the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) are overvalued as the benchmark index shows no signs of slowing down after hitting the historic high last month.