Rejoinder

Kattali Textile Ltd and the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) have sent separate rejoinders to a report titled “Regulator okays Kattali Textile IPO despite DSE's Objection” published in The Daily Star on July 24.

In the news item, it was said that Dhaka Stock Exchange recommended the IPO of Kattali should not be approved as it failed to submit some documents what the premier bourse wanted to verify the authenticity of the data presented in the draft prospectus of the company. Kattali in the rejoinder signed by its managing director said the company provided the DSE with proper information and documents when it raised the objections.

Those were also forwarded to the BSEC. The stockmarket regulator verified the documents and approved the IPO.

It was said in the news item that Kattali's export increased 22.42 percent in 2016-17. But the export actually rose only 2.01 percent, the company claimed.

On the 22 percent rise in the cost of goods sold, Kattali said it rose by only 1.67 percent.

“We are shocked to find the renowned daily like yours has published a news item without verifying the nature with the concerned agencies like the issuer and the manager of the issue,” Kattali said in the rejoinder. “This is quite unfortunate. In this connection we would like to register our strong protest and dismay since this misrepresentation of the facts has tried to tarnish the image and reputation of the company without knowing the facts in full.”

The BSEC in the rejoinder posted on its website said the lack of data or documents that led the Dhaka Stock Exchange on March 25, 2018 to take a stance against the IPO proposal were later furnished by the company with evidences and documents. Upon being satisfied, the commission approved the IPO on June 26, 2018.

So, the news article published in The Daily Star about the IPO of Kattali was not properly informative.

Our Reply

The Daily Star ran the news item on the basis of a review report of the DSE. In the review report, it was mentioned that Kattali's export and the cost of goods sold rose 22.42 percent and 22 percent respectively. It was also mentioned in the review that the DSE sought some documents to verify the figures, but Kattali did not provide the documents.

Before publishing the report, The Daily Star tried to talk to Md Fazlul Hoque, chief financial officer of Kattali Textile, but he did not receive the phone. Later, Hoque in a text message said that Kattali submitted all the related documents the BSEC and the DSE asked for. His comment was also incorporated in the report.

The reporter also talked to the spokesperson of the BSEC and his comment was included in the report.

We stand by our report.