DSE seeks BSEC guidelines on merger procedure

The Dhaka Stock Exchange, embarrassed in connection with SPPCL merger and delisting fiasco, has issued a letter to the capital market regulator seeking guidelines on merger procedure.
The country’s premier bourse sent the letter to the regulator on Monday as merger procedure of another listed company, Bengal Windsor Thermoplastics Limited, with two of its associate companies— Bengal Petrochem Ltd and Synthetic Textiles Limited— was under process.
On August 18 this year, the board of directors of BWTL took the merger decision and got approval on draft scheme of amalgamation on August 29.
The extraordinary general meeting of shareholders of BWTL will be held on October 30 to approve the draft scheme of amalgamation, a web-post of the company said on September 4 after the court approval.
Following the BWTL declaration, DSE chief regulatory officer AKM Ziaul Hasan Khan issued the letter to the commission as the bourse observed that there was no securities rules or regulations in place to determine the course of actions of the bourse.
The DSE letter came after the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission on August 26 formed an inquiry committee after the regulator found that the bourse had failed to follow due procedure in delisting Summit Purbanchol Power Company Limited in connection with a merger procedure.
On August 24, the Dhaka and Chittagong bourses delisted SPPCL from both the bourses in connection with its merger with Summit Power along with two other companies — Summit Uttaranchol Power Company and Summit Narayanganj Power Company.
The market regulator on the same day came down heavily on the bourses and warned them of regulatory measures.
The commission at the same time also instructed the bourses to take proper measures including bringing the responsible persons under book.
Following the regulatory instruction, a senior official of DSE was made OSD as an immediate measure and three senior officials of CSE were also suspended. The CSE, however, withdrew its suspension order from its officials on August 28. The DSE official is still kept as an OSD.
At the same time, the Dhaka and Chittagong bourses suspended trading of the shares of Summit Power for an indefinite period from August 28.
The merger fiasco also led to a conflict with two commissioners of the BSEC.

News Courtesy: www.newagebd.net