In April Premier Bank made an initial public offering (IPO) with 84.5 lakh shares being sold to investors at Tk 100 each to raise Tk 84.5 crore from the capital market.

However yesterday the shares opened at Tk 370 on the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), rising to a high of Tk 391 before closing at Tk 360.50. On the Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE), the bank's share closed at Tk 361 after hitting a high of Tk 400.

Traders said the interest in the share reflected the large demand for the IPO which had led to it being many times oversubscribed. Banks, which make up more than 50 per cent of the DSE's capitalization, are also regarded as attractive investments.

Rated 'A-' in the long term and 'ST3' in the short term, earning per share of the bank stood at Tk 20.79 at the end of 2006 while the net asset value stood at Tk 201.54 per share. The bank started operations in October1999 and is the 30th bank on the DSE and CSE.

The scale of interest in Premier Bank, turnover reached Tk36.04 crore, has only once been exceeded. That was on January 31 this year when Brac Bank came to the market and saw even higher levels of turnover. Brac Bank sold shares in an IPO for Tk170, with the shares trading at a high of Tk 540 on the first day.

Yesterday total turnover on the DSE reached Tk 178.98 crore. Earlier the highest turnover recorded was Tk 160.71 crore on May 20.

Prices also gained, with the DSE General Index up by 32.6 points, or 1.7 percent, to close at 1949.45 points. The DSE All Share Price Index rose by 17.88 points, or 1.1 percent, ending the day at 1630.68 points.

Losers outnumbered gainers. Of the issues traded, 33 advanced and 143 declined with 18 unchanged. A total of 11,861,869 shares were traded on the DSE.

UNB ads: Trading at CSE closed higher yesterday though the losers dominated the gainers.

CSE All Share Price Index rose by 0.25 percent to close at 4757.26 points. The CSE-30 Index also increased by 0.10 percent to close at 4224.06 points.

A total of 91 issues were traded. Of them, 25 gained, 62 declined and four remained unchanged. Some 2,941,544 shares worth Tk 32.87 crore changed hands.

BD WELDING TRADE RESUMES

Meanwhile, share trading of Bangladesh Welding Electrodes Limited (BD Welding) resumed yesterday with the shares opening at Tk19 and closing at Tk18.50.

Earlier the DSE authority halted the share trading of the company from April 1.

The DSE in its website yesterday said: "The earlier disseminated information on 11.02.07 by BD Welding regarding Saudi Investment was found incorrect and misleading through an investigation of Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Consequently the SEC has lodged a criminal case against the persons alleged to be the creator of those fabricated information. As the inquiry is completed, the trade halting decision of BD Welding is withdrawn at this point of time."

At the height of speculation over a Saudi investment shares in BD Welding hit highs of Tk 50.