DSE turnover slumps to lowest in 9 months

Turnover on the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) slumped to its lowest levels for almost 9 months yesterday, with traders blaming restrictions imposed on client loans and the upcoming debuts of Jamuna and Meghna oil companies.
Turnover on the premier bourse sank to Tk 74.39 crore, the lowest since April 15 last year and well below the daily levels above Tk 300 crore that were being recorded in October.
The downturn was initially prompted by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) move in November to impose a ban on offering loans by the merchant banks to investors to purchase shares. Although the SEC later lifted the ban, it cut the amount that could be lent by half. The SEC imposed the restriction in order to cool the market.
“We are not happy with the regulator's move to clip our wings. While we were previously allowed to offer 100 percent loan to our clients, now we can provide 50 percent loan against the deposit of our clients,” said a merchant banker seeking anonymity.
Traders said dissatisfaction with the SEC's policies had led some institutional investors to boycott the market. Institutional investors normally account for 60 to 70 percent of daily transactions, according to the DSE.
At present this has been reduced to around 30 percent, according to DSE Chief Executive Officer Salahuddin Ahmed Khan.
In recent days the lack of interest has been accentuated by the imminent offloading by the government shares in Jamuna and Meghna oil companies. Jamuna will start trading tomorrow with Meghna coming to the market on Monday.
Traders said there is a huge demand for new quality shares, especially government ones, and investors have been inactive ahead of the introduction of the new shares.
Jamuna will release 13.50 lakh shares worth Tk 13.50 crore, while Meghna will release 12 lakh shares worth Tk 12 crore. The face value of each share has been fixed at Tk 10. The shares to be offloaded through direct listing rules with Dhaka and Chittagong stock exchanges amount to 30 percent of the two companies' paid-up capital.
The indices fell yesterday with losers dominating gainers. The DSE General Index declined by 6.46 points, or 0.22 percent, to close at 2922.86 points, while the DSE All Share Price Index fell by 5.05 points, or 0.2 percent, to finish at 2463.05 points.
Of the issues traded, 80 advanced and 126 declined with 19 unchanged. A total of 3,097,205 shares and bonds changed hands on the bourse.
Meanwhile, the Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) also closed lower. The CSE Selective Categories Index fell by 9.95 points, or 0.2 percent, closing at 4763.82 points, while the CSE All Share Price Index decreased by 13.37 points, 0.17 percent, ending at 7432.5 points.
A total of 656,136 shares and bonds worth Tk 10.31 crore changed hands on the bourse. Of the issues traded, 35 advanced and 58 declined with 10 unchanged.