Muhammad Ayub Ali :
The Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) issued a notice yesterday against the directors of nine listed companies on the Dhaka Stock Exchange for their failure to distribute declared dividends within the prescribed timeframe.
According to the BSEC, the directors of these companies will face fines if they do not distribute the declared dividends by the stipulated deadline.
BSEC Executive Director and spokesperson Mohammad Rezaul Karim stated, “Companies must pay their overdue dividends by 15 December.”
The companies face the following fines per director if they fail to meet the deadline: Safco Spinning Mills Limited will be fined Tk 2 million, Pacific Denims Limited Tk 1.3 million, Lube-Ref (Bangladesh) Limited Tk 235,000, Oryza Agro Industries Limited Tk 4.7 million, Mamun Agro Products Limited Tk 1.3 million, Krishibid Feed Limited Tk 1 million, Krishibid Seed Limited Tk 1 million, BD Paints Limited Tk 9.7 million, and Associated Oxygen Limited Tk 191,000.
Directors of these companies, excluding independent directors, will be required to pay the dividends to shareholders from their own private funds if the distribution is not completed by the BSEC-imposed deadline.
Failure to comply will result in fines levied on each director and managing director from their personal funds, in addition to the requirement to distribute the outstanding dividends.
The BSEC’s directive is designed to protect investors’ interests and uphold the integrity of Bangladesh’s capital markets.
At the 930th board meeting, chaired by BSEC Chairman Khondoker Rashed Maqsood yesterday, the regulator vowed to impose penalties on directors of companies that have failed to distribute dividends as declared.
In a separate case, the BSEC fined Tk 500,000 each to Prudent Capital Limited and NLC Securities Limited for failing to maintain a consolidated customer account and for breaching securities law.
If the companies fail to comply with the directives, they will incur a daily fine of Tk 10,000 for each day of delay.
