Dhaka bourse approves 10pc cash dividend

Shareholders of the Dhaka Stock Exchange yesterday approved 10 percent dividend for the year that ended on June 30, 2017 in a development that is set to lower the price that the Chinese consortium pays for the 25 percent stake.

To pay 10 percent dividend to shareholders, the DSE will have to take out cash of Tk 180 crore, said KAM Majedur Rahman, managing director of the country's premier bourse.

The move would shrink the DSE's assets, which would have the knock-on effect of lowering the valuation of each share to Tk 21.

The consortium of Shanghai Stock Exchange and Shenzhen Stock Exchange proposed to purchase 25 percent stakes of the DSE at Tk 22 a share with the condition that if the premier bourse paid dividend their share price would also decline.

Now, the Chinese consortium would have to pay Tk 21 for each share, Rahman told reporters after the DSE's 56th annual general meeting that was held on Thursday.

“It is a common practice worldwide,” he added.

Abul Hashem, chairman of the DSE, chaired the AGM, where the bourse's audited financial statement was unanimously approved by the shareholders.

DSE's net income stood at Tk 123.9 crore, up 3.23 percent from the previous year.

As the bourse's net income increased slightly, its earnings per share also rose to Tk 0.69 from Tk 0.66 a year ago.