DSE okays Coppertech listing

The Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) on Monday okayed the widely disputed listing proposal of Coppertech Industries Ltd at a board meeting.

The DSE had earlier failed to decide on the listing of Coppertech within the deadline. According to the DSE (Listing) Regulations, the stock exchange must complete the listing procedure within 30 working days from the closing date of the Initial Public Offering (IPO) subscription.

“The exchange in its board meeting has decided to list Coppertech if the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) gives the final approval by making an exemption of the deadline rule,” said a board member seeking anonymity.

Sources present in the meeting have confirmed The Business Standard that independent directors -- who were majority in the board -- were in favour of listing Coppertech with the exchange.

However, following the regulator’s order the DSE has already handed the subscribed IPO capital to the issuer company. The Board of Directors at the Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) on May 23 approved the listing of the disputed company.

The BSEC awarded its IPO consent letter to Coppertech Industries on February 27. In April, the company received applications and subscriptions from investors to issue primary shares worth Tk20 crore at a face value of Tk10 each.

The company started its commercial operations in mid-2014 to manufacture and sell copper bar, copper rod, copper strip, copper wire, copper pipe and copper tubes – which are mainly used in air coolers, refrigerators, transformers, electric wires, plumbing, building construction and power plants.

In the fiscal year ending on June 30, 2018 with the revenue over half a billion Taka, the company disclosed a profit of Tk41 million after paying taxes.

However, a lot of elements from its financial statement were alleged to be fabricated.

There had been strong allegations from capital market groups that Coppertech presented fabricated data in IPO prospectus and concerned institutions like auditor and even securities regulator failed to stop the company from misleading the investors. 

Ahmed and Akhtar Chartered Accountants -- the audit firm that the okayed Coppertech Industries IPO prospectus -- has recently lost its auditing right as The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Bangladesh (ICAB) refused to renew the license as audit practitioner because of its alleged misconducts.

On June 21, the premier bourse of the country sought time from BSEC to decide on the listing proposal, as the company’s accounts and auditor’s role was highly questionable and had been facing some scrutiny by the audit bodies.