National Insurance gets nod for IPO subscription

The stockmarket regulator yesterday allowed Bangladesh National Insurance Company to start its initial public offering subscription on February 17 and continue it to February 25.

Earlier on June 29, Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission postponed the insurer's IPO subscription, without mentioning any reason.

The latest permission came at yesterday's meeting, with BSEC Chairman Khairul Hossain in the chair, the regulator said in a statement.

The insurer will raise Tk 17.7 crore from the public by issuing 1.77 crore ordinary shares of Tk 10 each. It will use the IPO funds to invest in fixed deposit receipts and treasury bonds.

The company's earnings per share, excluding extraordinary income, stood at Tk 1.07 with a net asset value per share of Tk 15.65 as of July 2014. Prime Finance Capital Management is the issue manager of the IPO.

Presently, 46 insurance companies are listed on the Dhaka Stock Exchange, accounting for about 3.5 percent of total market capitalisation.

At yesterday's meeting, the BSEC also approved Summit Alliance Port's application to raise Tk 51.53 crore by way of a rights issue.

The inland container service provider, which was listed on the stock exchange in 2008, will issue 3.44 crore rights shares of Tk 10 each, in addition to Tk 5 as premium, to its existing shareholders.

A rights issue is the option given to a company's existing shareholders that entitles them to buy additional shares directly from the company in proportion to their existing holdings within a fixed time period.

Summit Alliance Port will offer one rights share for existing five shares. The raised fund will be used to purchase land and repay loans, the BSEC said in the statement.

LankaBangla Investments is serving as the manager of the rights issue. 

In another move, the regulator fined Shyamol Equity Management and Saad Securities Tk 15 lakh and Tk 2 lakh respectively for violating securities rules.