Shahjibazar shares defy regulator's efforts to control prices

The stock market regulator's effort to hold back the unusual price hike of the newly-listed Shahjibazar Power Company looks to be in vain, with the power company's share price rising 26 percent in the past four days.

Between its debut on July 15 and July 24, Shahjibazar's share price soared 61 percent to Tk 58.7. The abnormal rise prompted the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission on Sunday to form a two-member panel to investigate the matter.

But the share price yesterday rose to Tk 85.1 from Tk 64.5 on Monday. Furthermore, not once did the Shahjibazar share price fall during the four days. A market expert identified lower free float ratio of the company's shares a major factor behind the continuous rise in prices, even after the regulatory probe. Lower free float ratio means that there is lesser quantity of tradable shares in the market.

Only 1.26 crore shares of the 12.68 crore Shahjibazar Power shares are free floating or tradable.

“It is easy to inflate the price with lower free float stocks, as shares can be dried up in market easily to send the price up,” said Akter Hossain Sannamat, managing director of Union Capital, an investment bank.

The lower free float ratio of a company's shares, however, also creates an opportunity for foul play in the market, he said, adding that the general investors should be very careful while putting money in such securities.

They should avoid any types of rumour and should invest only following the fundamentals of the company, he suggested.

Located in Habiganj, Shahjibazar Power raised Tk 31.7 crore through initial public offering, which was approved by the BSEC in January. The company floated 1.26 crore ordinary shares of Tk 10 each at an offer price of Tk 25, including Tk 15 as premium.

The company produces electricity from natural gas and supplies to the Bangladesh Power Development Board. The company started commercial production with its 86MW power plants in February 2009.