Zeal Bangla’s share trading resumes Sunday

The Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) has decided to resume the trading of Zeal Bangla Sugar Mills Ltd shares from Sunday.

The commission has also decided to freeze two individual beneficiary owners' (BO) accounts of investors who are holding around 10% share of the company's paid-up capital.

Earlier, the commission decided to suspend trading of Zeal Bangla's shares from 14 September this year, after it observed unusual transactions and a huge jump in the company's share price on the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE).

The commission also found that two individual BO accounts played a significant role in these unusual transactions and increase in the share price. So, it has decided to freeze those two BO accounts in the interest of investors, said sources.

On 31 August 2020, the commission directed the DSE to inquire into the unusual price hike of Zeal Bangla's shares.

The company's share price was Tk31.60 in July 2020, but its last trading price on 14 September was Tk213. This means the company's share price increased around seven fold in around two months.

Meanwhile, the company's board of directors has recommended no dividend for the shareholders for the year ended on 30 June 2020.

During the period, the company's loss per share was Tk93.69, while its net asset value per share was Tk701.46 negative.

The company has not been able to pay any dividend to the shareholders for the last 30 years. As a result, the company's loss is getting heavier every year.

This year, its auditors said the company was unlikely to make a profit. The auditor also said the company needs support from the government to turn around.

The paid-up capital of the company that was listed on the capital market in 1988 is only Tk6 crore. The last dividend received by the shareholders from this company was in 1990.

The government holds 51% stake in the company, while institutional investors hold 11.43%, and general investors 37.57% of its shares.