Share trading of Dhaka Electric Supply Company (Desco) will make its debut on the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) on June 18.
The DSE at a board meeting yesterday fixed the date for the first trading of shares of Desco, sources said.
Earlier, the government decided to offload 25 per cent stakes of the company in the capital market and the trading of shares of Desco was scheduled to begin on May 31. But, a sudden demand by its employees for allocation of 10 per cent shares out of 25 per cent shares of the Desco has delayed the entire process.
The Desco will publish its information document (prospectus) in the daily newspapers within a very short time.
The company will join the capital market by releasing around 3.2 million shares worth Tk 317.80 million. The face value of each share of Desco is fixed at Tk 100.
However, ten per cent of the offloaded shares will go to the employees of the company as per the government's approval.
The shares of the company will be offloaded through direct listing rules with both the DSE and Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE). Desco is the first company to be listed with the bourses under direct listing rules.
Ten per cent of the offloaded shares will be released within the first month from the first trading date to avoid possible devaluation of the shares.
The initiative of offloading the shares of Desco is a part of the government's broader goal for giving all the power generation, supply and transmission entities a corporate shape.
Credit Rating Information and Services Ltd (CRISL), a credit rating company, has rated the Desco as A+.
The net asset value of the Desco in the 2004-05 fiscal stood at Tk 10,304.55 million while the earning per share was Tk 40.14. During the same period, operating profit of Desco was Tk 1,211.61 million.
The Investment Corporation of Bangladesh (ICB), issue manager of the Desco, will offload shares on the first two days of trading for two hours a day. Normal trading will start on the fourth day while there will be no trading on the third day.
Prospective investors will offer prices for buying shares in the first 15 minutes of the first trading day. Based on the offered price, the ICB will fix a price of each share and thus offloading of shares will start. However, there will be a scope for price modification depending on demand.
Buyers will be allowed to place a maximum order for 1,000 shares at a time on the first day. The restriction on purchasing shares over 1,000 will be withdrawn on the second day and buyers will be allowed to place orders based on market lot and odd lot.
