Navana CNG applies for direct listing

Navana CNG Limited, a sister concern of Navana Group, plans to list directly on stock exchanges by offloading Tk 18 crore shares.
The CNG (compressed natural gas) service provider submitted a direct listing proposal to the Dhaka Stock Exchange yesterday, people close to the issue said.
Iftikhar-Uz-Zaman, general manager of ICB, told The Daily Star: "We have turned in the proposal to the DSE." ICB's Capital Management Ltd is the issue manager for the direct listing of Navana CNG.
In line with the proposal, 1.80 crore shares with Tk 10 each will be offloaded under direct listing rules, under which the price of a security is built up by prospective investors directly on the secondary market.
This means the best value of the floated shares will go to entrepreneurs.
On the other hand, the initial public offering (IPO) system allows a company to float shares on the primary market with fixed value. But in most cases when the trading of the shares starts on the secondary market, the prices shoot up manifold against face value and the benefits go to the IPO lottery winners.
Navana CNG has Tk 30 crore in existing paid-up capital, while earnings per share are Tk 8 and net asset value per share is Tk 12.
According to the company website, it is running nine CNG conversion workshops across the country -- five in Dhaka, two in Chittagong and two each in Sylhet and Bogra.
Navana CNG is the third private sector company that applied for direct listing after ACI Formulations and Shinepukur Ceramics, which listed directly on the stock exchanges last year. In 2002, Square Textiles listed directly for the first time on a test case basis.
Five state-run enterprises offloaded their shares in the stock market under direct listing rules. The entities are Dhaka Electric Supply Company, Power Grid Company of Bangladesh, Jamuna Oil Company, Meghna Petroleum, and Titas Gas Transmission and Distribution Company.
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