Stocks rebound on bargain hunting
Dhaka stocks rebounded on Wednesday due mainly to bargain hunting by investors after a three-day plunge that had pushed down the Dhaka Stock Exchange’s key index to a one-and-a-half-year low in the previous trading session. DSEX, the key index of the DSE, rose by 0.68 per cent, or 35.95 points, to close at 5,309.11 points on Wednesday after losing 155.81 points in the previous three trading sessions. Of the 337 companies and mutual funds traded, 207 advanced, 87 declined and 43 remained unchanged. The turnover on the bourse also increased to Tk 741.22 crore on Wednesday compared with that of Tk 627.88 crore in the previous trading session. DS30, the blue chip index of the DSE, finished at 1,902.57 points, adding 0.42 per cent or 8.04 points. The Shariah index of the bourse, DSES, rose 0.72 per cent, or 8.94 points, to close at 1,245.47 points.
Source: https://thefinancialexpress.com.bd/page/stock/bangladesh
Aman Cotton’s IPO lottery draws begin
The IPO lottery draw of Aman Cotton Fibrous Limited started today (Wednesday) to allocate 8.33 million ordinary shares to the successful applicants. The initial public offering (IPO) lottery draw started at 10:30am at The Institution of Engineers, Bangladesh in the city, officials said. The results will be published on the websites of Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE), the company and the issue manager. Aman Cotton floated a total of 20.83 million ordinary shares and raised a fund worth Tk 800 million from the capital market under the book-building method. Of the total 20.83 million shares, 12.50 million shares issued to eligible investors at the cut-off price of Tk 40 each which was set by the eligible investors through the electronic bidding in November last year. Remaining 8.33 million shares will be issued to general public, including affected small investors and non-resident Bangladeshis, at 10 per cent discount on cut-off price of Tk 40, meaning they will get each share of the company at Tk 36 each.
Source: https://thefinancialexpress.com.bd/stock/bangladesh/aman-cottons-ipo-lottery-draws-begin-1530682229
Migrants’ welfare fund to hold 95pc stake in PKB
The finance ministry has given its opinion in favor of allowing the migrants’ welfare fund to hold a 95 per cent stake in the Probashi Kallyan Bank (PKB). To this effect, the ministry sent a letter to the Bangladesh Bank (BB) last week. The Specialized Bank Wing-2 under the Financial Institutions Division made its suggestion following a letter sent by the BB earlier to that end, they said. “As per Section 121 of the Bank Company Act 1991, the PKB can be exempted from the Subsection 14 ka (1) in holding a 95 per cent stake (Tk 3.80 billion) by the Wage Earners’ Welfare Board (WEWB),” the letter reads. Safiar Rahman, general manager of PKB, said the bank might be converted to a scheduled one soon, as they got the finance ministry’s consent in this regard. He also said they already managed the required amount of Tk 4.0 billion (400 crore) as paid-up capital for the bank. Apart from the WEWB’s contribution of Tk 3.80 billion, they received Tk 200 million from the finance ministry to replenish the paid-up capital. The official data showed that only 23,731 outbound workers were given loans worth Tk 2.29 billion by the bank between fiscal years 2011-12 and 2016-17. A total of 63 branches under the PKB are currently operating across the country.
Source: https://thefinancialexpress.com.bd/trade/migrants-welfare-fund-to-hold-95pc-stake-in-pkb-1530764154
Dhaka Bank re-elects chairman
Reshadur Rahman has recently been re-elected as the chairman of Dhaka bank. The bank also elected Md Amirullah as its new vice chairman, the bank said in a statement yesterday. The bank also re-elected some of its directors in different positions. Abdul Hai Sarker has been re-elected as the chairman of the executive committee of the bank while Khondoker Monir Uddin as the chairman of the bank’s risk management committee. The bank also re-elected Syed Abu Naser Bukhtear Ahmed as the chairman of the audit committee.
Source: https://www.thedailystar.net/business/dhaka-bank-re-elects-chairman-1600336
Govt working to launch Sukuk, says BB official
The government is working on launching Sukuk, a Shariah-compliant or Islamic bond, to help Islamic finance industry to flourish in the country. Two to three Bangladeshi teams have already visited some countries that are practising Islamic banking, including Malaysia and Bahrain, to gather experience on introducing Sukuk and a new team will be doing the same soon. Sukuk shows elements resembling both shares and bonds, depending on the applicable underlying Islamic financial contract and structure. In countries where Sukuk has been introduced, Islamic banks and financial institutions are using it to operate their liquidity management. Islamic banks use Sukuk to maintain the statutory liquidity ratio with their respective central bank and float it to mobilise long-term funds. Many Islamic countries have introduced the tool to mobilise long-term funds from the global market.
Source: https://www.thedailystar.net/business/govt-working-launch-sukuk-says-bb-official-1600327
Exports miss target for second year
Exports fell short of target for the second consecutive year in fiscal 2017-18, in what can be viewed as a worrying development for the government. Last fiscal year, exports fetched $36.66 billion, up 5.81 percent from a year earlier, but fell short of the government’s target of $37.5 billion, thanks in part to below-par performance in June. Export receipts in June were 18.87 percent below the monthly target at $2.93 billion. They were 3.08 percent lower than the previous fiscal year. There was a ray of hope though: Bangladesh’s main export earner, apparel, fared better than in the previous year, which saw the lowest growth in 15 years. Garment shipments brought home $30.61 billion, up 8.76 percent year-on-year, according to data from the Export Promotion Bureau. It also beat the target of $30.16 billion. Apart from apparel, only two product categories were able to cross the $1-billion mark last fiscal year. One of them is leather and leather goods, which earned $1.08 billion, down 12.03 percent year-on-year. The earnings were also 21.34 percent below the annual target of $1.38 billion. After a gap of three years, jute and jute goods again crossed the $1-billion mark in exports earnings as the demand for the natural fibre is increasing globally. Jute and jute goods exports grew 6.56 percent to $1.02 billion. The sector, however, fell short of the target of $1.05 billion. Exports of home textiles were up 9.95 percent to $878.68 million, agricultural products 21.79 percent to $673.70 million, and pharmaceuticals 16.03 percent to $103.46 million. Bicycle exports grew 3.97 percent to $85.73 million, ceramics 32.70 percent to $51.94 million, and furniture 20.27 percent to $63.18 million. On the other hand, frozen and live fish exports declined 3.42 percent to $508.43 million, plastic goods 15.79 percent to $98.48 million, rubber 9.21 percent to $25.84 million, and terry towel 4.4 percent to $42.35 million.
Source:
https://www.thedailystar.net/business/exports-miss-target-second-year-1600339
http://www.newagebd.net/article/45115/fy18-exports-post-paltry-58pc-growth
https://thefinancialexpress.com.bd/economy/exports-see-581pc-growth-in-fy18-1530715655
MNP service to be launched in August
The much awaited mobile number portability (MNP) service is almost ready to serve the country’s mobile phone customers from the next month (August). The assigned firm, Infozillion BD Teletech Consortium Limited (IBTCL), has connected the mobile network operators (MNOs), public switched telephone network (PSTN) operators and other operators with the MNP platform. IBTCL managing director told the news agency on Wednesday that the telecom regulator directed them to get ready by July 31 to offer the service in August. On November 30 last year, the telecom regulator handed over the MNP license to the selected joint venture firm Infozillion BD Teletech Consortium Limited (IBTCL). The company, IBTCL, a joint venture of Infozillion BD Limited and Teletech DOO, Slovenia, was directed to provide the service within 180 days of getting the license.
Source: http://www.newagebd.net/article/45183/mnp-service-to-be-launched-in-august
Dhaka-Ctg expressway project: RHD likely to invite tender in a month
A delay in taking the decision on the Dhaka-Chittagong expressway project by the finance ministry has compelled the Roads and Highways Department (RHD) to seek support from the PPP Authority to complete the tender process. Sources said RHD has planned to invite the tender for the US$ 4.12-billion project within a month and sought support from the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Authority to prepare the tender document and complete the evaluation process to select concessionaires. The PPP Authority will appoint a transaction adviser and carry out the work with its own fund as RHD had to close one of its technical projects without completing the tender process. RHD has carried out the feasibility study and detailed design work under the $ 10-million technical project funded by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to construct more than 200-kilometre expressway under the PPP initiative. Under this project, the expressway was proposed to be constructed almost along the existing corridor both in elevated way and surface road.
Source: https://thefinancialexpress.com.bd/economy/bangladesh/dhaka-ctg-expressway-project-rhd-likely-to-invite-tender-in-a-month-1530682707
Local and Global Stock Indices *
Index Name | Close Value | Value Change | Percentage Change |
---|
DSEX | 5,309.12 | ↑35.95 | ↑0.68% |
DJIA | 24,174.82 | ↑2.00 | ↑0.01% |
FTSE100 | 7,573.09 | ↓30.12 | ↓0.40% |
Nikkei 225 | 21,711.71 | ↑39.37 | ↑0.18% |
World Commodities *
Commodity | Close Value | Value Change | Percentage Change |
---|
Crude Oil (WTI) | $73.84 | ↓0.73 | ↓0.98% |
Crude Oil (Brent) | $78.24 | ↑0.53 | ↑0.68% |
Gold Spot | $1,256.70 | ↑3.71 | ↑0.30% |
Major Currencies Exchange Rates Movement in Last Seven Days *
Exchange Rates |
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USD 1 | BDT 83.42 |
GBP 1 | BDT 110.32 |
EUR 1 | BDT 97.24 |
INR 1 | BDT 1.21 |
*CURRENCIES AND COMMODITIES ARE TAKEN FROM BLOOMBERG.