Non-banks’ dividend capped at 30pc

The central bank yesterday imposed a dividend cap of 30 per cent on non-bank financial institutions (NBFIs). Of the amount, the NBFIs will have to pay 15 per cent in the stock dividend, and the rest will be paid in the form of cash. On February 24, the Bangladesh Bank had barred the NBFIs from paying more than 15 per cent in cash dividend. It said nothing about the stock dividend.The central bank has issued the notice with the revision to bring an end to all misinterpretations. This is the first time in recent years that the BB gave a directive to the NBFIs to be cautious in providing dividends, given the vulnerable financial health of some lenders.Bangladesh has 36 NBFIs, and at least 10 of them struggle to pay back depositors money despite those reaching maturity. As of December 2020, the CAR of six of the NBFIs was less than what was required to be maintained, which is 10 per cent. A total of 13 had default loans of more than 10 per cent. The CAR is a ratio of capital of a financial institution as percentage of its risk-weighted assets and current liabilities. Regulators fix the CAR to protect depositors’ money.

Source: https://www.thedailystar.net/business/news/non-banks-dividend-capped-30pc-2065261

Beacon may ship $5m pharma products to Syria

Beacon Pharmaceuticals, the local pioneer of oncology product manufacturing, may export $5 million worth of pharmaceuticals to Syria by December this year — a huge development for the local pharma industry. The shipment will make Syria the single largest export destination for Bangladeshi pharmaceuticals.The company will export oncology, general and cephalosporin drugs to Syria. Sri Lanka is currently the top destination of drug shipments for Bangladesh with $4.7 million in FY 2019-20 followed by Kenya with $4.2 million. The other major export destinations are Myanmar ($1.3 million), Nepal ($0.8 million), Afghanistan ($0.7 million), and the US ($0.6 million), data from the Export Promotion Bureau shows. The local pharmaceuticals sector earned $135.79 million from exports during the last fiscal year, when shipments witnessed a 4.49 per cent year-on-year growth.Local players dominate Bangladesh’s pharmaceutical industry. Square Pharmaceuticals leads the pack with an 18.8 per cent share followed by Incepta at 10.2 per cent, Beximco 8.5 per cent, Opsonin 5.6 per cent, Renata 5.1 per cent and Eskayef 4.5 per cent, according to the Bangladesh Association of Pharmaceutical Industries (BAPI).

Source: https://www.thedailystar.net/business/news/beacon-may-ship-5m-pharma-products-syria-2065253

Trading to continue as usual during pandemic: BSEC

The market bounced back on Monday, after suffering a big fall in the past three days, as bargain hunters showed their buying spree on sector-wise lucrative stocks. Market analysts said the market recovered some losses after investors were convinced that the government will not impose any lockdowns even after fresh rising trends of coronavirus cases in the country. Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) issued a statement on Monday saying the share trading will continue as usual amid Covid-19 pandemic and urged the investors not to pay heed to any market closure rumour.The statement was issued following the rumour that the trading might be shut again once the government imposes lockdown in the wake of fresh rising trends of Covid-19 infections and deaths in the recent days. After enhancing the dividend limit for banks, the central bank has also decided to allow listed non-bank financial institutions (NBFIs) to declare up to 30 per cent dividend, up from the previous 15 per cent, which also attracted investors. DSEX, the prime index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), went up by 62.41 points or 1.16 per cent to settle at 5,412, after eroding 183 points in the past three days. Meanwhile, unlike every debutant in recent trend, the NRB Commercial Bank failed to attract much investor on its first day trading despite its profit after tax jumped 539 per cent year-on-year to Tk 1,406.42 million in January-September, 2020. The bank’s share traded between Tk 11.90 and Tk 15, before closing at Tk 13.20 each, gaining 32 per cent from its offer price of Tk 10. However, its upper limit circuit breaker was 50 per cent as a debutant. The NRBC Bank was the third most traded stock with 32.29 million shares worth Tk 428.55 million changing hands on the DSE. Premier Bank was the day’s top gainer, posting a gain of 9.52 per cent while GBB Power was the worst loser, losing 4.31 per cent. A total number of 159,515 trades were executed in the day’s trading session with a trading volume of 212.79 million shares and mutual fund units. The market-cap of DSE also rose to Tk 4,723 billion on Monday, up from Tk 4,646 billion in the previous session. The Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) also rebounded with the CSE All Share Price Index – CASPI -gaining 191 points to settle at 15,677 and the Selective Categories Index – CSCX rising 115 points to close at 9,458.

Source: https://today.thefinancialexpress.com.bd/stock-corporate/trading-to-continue-as-usual-during-pandemic-bsec-1616428503