Himadri’s share price up 60-fold

The stock price of Himadri Ltd, listed with the SME board of the Dhaka Stock Exchange, soared 60-fold in the last four months, prompting an investigation from the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC).

Stocks of the company, which traded for Tk 68 just four months ago, rose to Tk 4,085 yesterday, DSE data showed. The increase has seen the company's market value cross Tk 300 crore despite paid-up capital of Tk 75 lakh.

But at the same time that its stock price is rapidly rising, its directors have been busy selling shares, albeit some of those sales were at the direction of the BSEC. Shareholdings of the company's sponsors and/or directors stood at 98 percent on June 30, 2022, but had fallen to 65 percent at the end of June this year.

Given the situation, the BSEC ordered the DSE last week to investigate the unusual rise in the company's share price. The DSE was asked to submit an investigation report within 10 working days.

A top official of a stock brokerage firm expressed surprise that the small company's stock price was soaring continuously, especially during a period that has seen the stock market struggle to get buyers, leaving many well-performing stocks untraded.

He added that the regulator should have investigated earlier, before investors had purchased shares at high prices.

Himadri Ltd, a cold storage company, was transferred to the SME board in 2021 from the Over the Counter (OTC) market. It provided 10 percent cash dividend to its shareholders for the 2022 fiscal year.