The Dhaka bourse Wednesday continued its gaining streak for the third consecutive session riding on investors’ buying spree on the ‘lucrative’ large cap sectors. On the day the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) opened with a very positive mood and gained almost 16 points within the first hour and continued the same pattern till end, while some risk-averse investors went for booking quick gain during the mid session. At the end of the day’s session, the DSE broad index DSEX and shariah index DSES added 5.26 points and 0.71 points respectively, while the blue chip index DS30 lost 1.07 points to their previous day’s level. Of 322 issues traded, 148 advanced, 111 declined and 63 were unchanged on the premier bourse. The turnover stood at above Tk 5.26 billion which is 6.33 per cent less than the turnover of the previous session. Of the total turnover, above Tk 292 million came block transactions. The major sectors displayed better performance on the premier bourse. Among the major sectors based on market capitalisation, IT advanced 2.6 per cent, service 1.6 per cent and ceramic 0.9 per cent. Among the losing sectors, telecom and general insurance declined 0.7 per cent and 0.5 per cent respectively. The investors’ activity was mostly centered on engineering which captured 16.4 per cent of market turnover followed by fuel & power 14.5 per cent and bank 12.7 per cent. Singer BD topped the volume chart with a turnover of above Tk 244 million followed by Jamuna Oil above Tk 147 million, MJL Bangladesh above 139 million, Bangladesh Shipping Corporation above Tk 112 million and Lafarge Surma Cement above Tk 98 million. The Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) also closed in higher Wednesday and added 22.8 points in the benchmark index CASPI.
The representatives of top brokerage firms have made a number of proposals including introduction of share netting facility, listing of fundamentally strong companies and reduction of depository charges for share trading to make the capital market more vibrant. The proposals came Wednesday at a meeting held with the board of directors of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE). DSE chairman Justice Siddiqur Rahman Miah chaired the meeting attended by DSE directors Rakibur Rahman, Md. Shakil Rizvi and Mohammad Shajahan and DSE managing director KAM Majedur Rahman. “The participants made the plea of opening new branches of brokerage firms and issuance of cash dividends instead of bonus dividends by the listed companies,” said a DSE official. According to him, the other demands made by the representatives were: formation of a special fund for supporting the market as and when required, proper implementation of the securities rules, offloading of shares by the state-run enterprises and listing of multinational companies with the bourses.
BSEC to showcase stock mkt reforms at Digital World Fair
The securities regulator will participate in the Digital World Fair 2016 in a bid to showcase the policy reforms and market surveillance system. An official of the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) said the three-day long Digital World Fair 2016 begins on October 19 in Dhaka. The BSEC will make its presentation through a joint effort with the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) and Central Depository Bangladesh Limited (CDBL). The ICT Division and Access to Information Unit of the Prime Minister’s office are working to arrange the Digital World Fair 2016.
Bangladesh’s economy would grow at the rate of 6.9 per cent in 2016, which would remain unchanged until 2017, according to the World Economic Outlook (WEO) 2016 of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The IMF’s forecast, released Tuesday, is near the government’s estimate of 7.0 GDP (gross domestic product) growth for the fiscal year 2015-16 ended in June last. Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS), however, estimated the growth at 7.05 while the Asian Development Bank (ADB) revised its growth forecast for Bangladesh upward to 7.05. The IMF growth estimate for Bangladesh is marginally lower than others when the organisation also forecasts “stifling growth” in advanced economies. The WEO highlighted the precarious nature of the recovery eight years after the global financial crisis. It raised the spectre that persistent stagnation, particularly in advanced economies, could further fuel populist calls for restrictions on trade and immigration. “In emerging market and developing economies, growth will accelerate for the first time in six years, to 4.2 per cent, slightly higher than the July forecast of 4.1 percent. Next year, emerging economies are expected to grow 4.6 percent”.
This is quite heartening to note that the state of extreme poverty level in the country has shown a significant improvement. The number of its extreme poor people, according to a World Bank (WB) report, has dropped from 18 per cent in 2009-10 to 12.9 per cent at the end of the last fiscal year (FY). Over a period of seven years, as many as 8.0 million extreme poor have come above the extreme poverty line, said the report titled ‘Taking on inequality’ released in Dhaka this week. It stated that the number of extreme poor stood at 28 million in the FY 2009-10 and it has now come down to 20 million. The World Bank also predicted that extreme poverty rate is likely to decline to 12.1 per cent in FY’17 and fall further to 11.4 per cent the following year. Bangladesh, according to this indicator, outperformed India, Pakistan and Bhutan, but fell behind its neighbours in East Asia. Notwithstanding this, declining trend in the extreme poverty rate over the recent years is a significant achievement for the country. Due to steadily sustained rate of growth of its gross domestic product (GDP) and some notable improvements in economic performance, the number of people living under poverty line in Bangladesh had fallen considerably. A major reason behind this achievement is that the income of the poor people of the country has increased.
23.9 lakh tonnes of petroleum to be imported under govt-to-govt deals
The government is going to import 23.9 lakh tonnes of petroleum products under government-to-government arrangements (g-to-g) from nine countries next fiscal year. The cabinet committee on economic affairs yesterday approved the proposal by Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation to import fuel, mostly diesel. Of the total amount, 12.3 lakh tonnes will come from Kuwait, 2.3 lakh tonnes from China, 2.7 lakh tonnes from Malaysia, 1.6 lakh tonnes from the UAE, 1.4 lakh tonnes from the Philippines, 1 lakh tonnes from Vietnam, 80,000 tonnes from Indonesia, 30,000 tonnes from Thailand and 50,000 tonnes from Oman. In 2015, the government decided that half of the petroleum products to be imported a year would be through g-to-g arrangements and the rest through open bidding. It is estimated that in 2017, the country’s demand for import of petroleum products a year will be 46.8 lakh tonnes. The price of fuel is determined by the international market rates. However, the premium cost, including shipping and other expenses, normally varies. Under a g-to-g arrangement, there is no scope for competitive pricing. The premium cost in open bidding, which began in the first half of the current fiscal year, is lower than that in g-to-g arrangements.
Diesel import for India : Long-term contract likely at high premium
Bangladesh is likely to ink a long-term contract with India to import 1m tonnes of diesel per year spending more than double the international competitive rates on transport and insurance. Energy Ministers of both countries agreed in principle that the premium for each tonne of diesel should be approximately $46. India’s state-run Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited took a firm stand to realise $46 in premium which included transport and insurance for supplying each tonne of diesel to Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation. Diesel would be supplied through a 130km pipeline, of which Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation would install 125km pipeline, said officials, adding that the pipeline project would cost approximately Tk 600 crore. The country needs 3.5m tonnes of diesel a year, of which approximately 3m tonnes is imported while the rest is met by refining imported crude.
Bangladesh yesterday sought India’s assistance in setting up of a network for supplying liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) to high-rise buildings and apartments, cooperation in the field of bio-fuels and training of its personnel in hydrocarbon sector. India has agreed to work with Bangladesh in these sectors and share its experiences. Countries discussed the issue of supplying high speed diesel (HSD) from Siliguri (West Bengal) terminal of India’s state-owned Numaligarh Refineries Ltd (NRL) to Parbatipur depot of Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC). NRL and BPC have agreed to the supply and purchase of HSD for 20 years through the proposed India-Bangladesh Friendship Pipeline between Siliguri and Parbatipur. Both sides are working on the details of the pipeline project, including its financing.