Bangladesh National Insurance gets go-ahead for IPO

The stockmarket regulator yesterday gave the green light to Bangladesh National Insurance Company to raise Tk 17.70 crore from the public.

The insurer is set to float 1.77 crore ordinary shares worth Tk 10 each, the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission said in a statement.

Bangladesh National Insurance will use the funds from the initial public offering (IPO) to invest in fixed deposit receipts and treasury bonds.

The company's earnings per share (EPS), excluding extraordinary income, as of July 2014 stood at Tk 1.07 with a net asset value per share of Tk 15.65. Prime Finance Capital Management is the issue manager of the IPO.

Presently, 46 insurance companies, both general and life, are listed on the Dhaka Stock Exchange, accounting around 3.5 percent of the total market capitalisation.

The BSEC also took a decision that the investors who trade on credit will not receive cash dividends or receivables from sales of bonus shares in their bank accounts directly.

Instead the cash will be deposited through a stockbroker or a stock dealer after adjusting the loans in the beneficiary owner's accounts of the investors.