Regulator to probe abnormal price hike of five firms' shares

The Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission has decided to investigate the abnormal rise in share prices of five companies listed on the Dhaka Stock Exchange.

The decision of the BSEC, which has formed a probe committee to look into the matter, was posted on the DSE website yesterday.

The five companies are: Khulna Printing and Packaging (KPPL), Fu Wang Foods, Beach Hatchery, Bangladesh Welding Electrodes (BD Welding) and Aziz Pipes.

Stocks of Aziz Pipes, a “Z” category share as the company has failed to give dividends to shareholders for incurring losses, went up more than 90 percent in 35 trading days.

According to the DSE, a share of Aziz Pipes traded at Tk 62.9 on May 24, but it rose to Tk 119.8 on July 16.

The company's shares closed at Tk 115 yesterday. BD Welding, also a “Z” category share, reported a loss of Tk 3 crore between July 2016 and March 2017.

Yet, the company's shares traded at Tk 23.7 on June 29, a whopping rise of 91 percent from Tk 12.4 on May 2 this year. The shares closed at Tk 18.6 yesterday.

KPPL reported a loss of Tk 1.98 crore in the July-March period, but its share prices increased 72 percent in one and a half months. According to the DSE, it traded at Tk 7.5 on May 2 and jumped to Tk 12.9 on July 3. Each KPPL share ended at Tk 11.3 yesterday.

Similarly, the share prices of Beach Hatchery, which reported a loss of Tk 1.45 crore between July 2016 and March 2017, jumped 97 percent in a span of two months, from Tk 11.6 on April 26 to Tk 22.9 on July 22. The shares of the company closed at Tk 18.5 yesterday.

Fu Wang Food, which is the only “A” category share among the five companies, rose nearly 72 percent in 50 trading days. Its shares traded Tk 24.8 on July 13, up from Tk 14.4 on April 30. It closed at Tk 22.9 yesterday.