The government is going to part with its 120,000 shares in the IFIC Bank, media reports say.
Reports say that the government will offload 1,20,000 out of its total 1.4 million shares. The government 35 per cent of the bank and the shares would be sold through the stock market.
Reports quoting Security Exchange Commission (SEC) chairman Faruq Ahmed Siddii as saying that its a welcoming move when the demand side is high now. Supply of issues should be increased considering the long-term development of the market.
The government has already appointed Investment Corporation of Bangladesh, a state-run investment bank, as manager of the issue. The move came in line with a decision on offloading of shares of state-run enterprises in power, energy and banks.
ICB officials, however, could not say when these shares would hit the market. 'It depends on how fast the government moves,' on official said.
IFIC Bank was listed on the stock market in 1986 with a total of 40, 63, 861 shares. The book value of each share is at Tk 100.
Sponsor shareholders of the IFIC Bank hold 34 per cent stakes while general or public holdings account for 31 per cent shares. The shares of the IFIC Bank are now traded as Z or low-quality shares due to its failure to hold annual general meetings for the last three years since 2003 because of a legal wrangle in the court.
The High Court however has ordered the bank to hold pending AGMs. Following the court directive, it posted 30 per cent stock dividends for three years since 2003.
The bank also announced 24 per cent stock dividends for 2006.
IFIC, with a total share capital of Tk 406 million, also received permission from the central bank to raise its authorised capital to Tk 1.6 billion from Tk 500 million.
