Business Report :
The Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) has added the fundamentally weak companies Khan Brothers PP Woven Bag and Sonali Paper to its CSE50 index – a selective index of the port city bourse.
The CSE revised its CSE50 index by replacing three companies. The third newly added company is Shahjalal Islami Bank. ACI, BBS Cables, and Saif Powertec have been removed from the index, according to a press release.
The CSE stated that the new index will be effective from 12 September 2024. The CSE50 Index is reviewed twice a year.
Khan Brothers has been incurring losses since 2020 and, as a result, did not pay a dividend for the fiscal 2022-23. Despite not paying a dividend, its shares are still being traded under the B category, as the securities regulator relaxed the rules for downgrading stocks to the Z category.
Additionally, Sonali Paper is under scrutiny by the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) over several allegations, including share manipulation and breaking rules to list in the main market from the defunct over-the-counter (OTC) market. Sonali Paper also incurred losses in the October-March period of FY24.
The CSE50 index companies include AB Bank, Al-Arafah Islami Bank, BSRM Limited, BSCCL, Bank Asia, BSC, Beacon Pharma, Beximco Ltd, Beximco Pharma, BRAC Bank, BAT Bangladesh, City Bank, Delta Life Insurance, Dutch-Bangla Bank, Eastern Bank, Exim Bank, First Security Islami Bank, Genex Infosys, GPH Ispat, Grameenphone, IDLC Finance, IFIC Bank, Islami Bank, Jamuna Bank, and Khan Brothers.
The remaining firms are LafargeHolcim Bangladesh, Lanka Bangla Finance, Mercantile Bank, National Bank, NCC Bank, Olympic Industries, One Bank, Orion Pharma, Padma Oil, Power Grid, Prime Bank, Pubali Bank, Robi, Sea Pearl, Shahjalal Islami Bank, Sonali Paper, Square Pharma, Summit Power, Acme Laboratories, Premier Bank, Trust Bank, Unique Hotel, UCB, United Power, and Uttara Bank.