Kingsway Fund comes in the rescue of Olympic
The leading investment bank in Europe holds 11.38% shares of Olympic Industries
Kingsway Fund, a leading investment bank in Europe, nominated Tanveer Ali as director to Olympic Industries Ltd's board on 29 November this year.
Prior to this appointment, he had served the company as its executive director.
He is also an independent director of Genex Infosys Limited, a publicly listed company in the information technology sector.
Tanveer Ali is the son of Mubarak Ali, managing director of Olympic.
According to the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), Kingsway Fund, which is traded as PICTET LUX A/C KFFC on bourses in Bangladesh, holds 11.38% shares of Olympic.
Olympic Industries is the country's leading biscuit manufacturer and listed on both stock exchanges.
An Olympic official said the company's board did not comply with the 30% shareholding required by the rule of the securities regulator.
"To comply with the rule, Kingsway Fund has joined our board by nominating a director," he added.
The foreign investment fund bought the Olympic's share in 2016.
Olympic Industries saw a sharp rise in its biscuit sales during the pandemic period, and the biscuit manufacturer posted a 22% growth in the April-June quarter of this year.
For the first time since its inception, the company crossed the Tk1,500 crore-mark in sales in the 2019-20 financial year, thanks to the growth.
Olympic Industries also registered an 18% growth in sales in the first quarter of the current fiscal year.
It has witnessed a 547% growth in sales in the last decade. According to an EBL Securities report, Olympic Industries has around 25% share in the organised and industrialised biscuit market.
The company has recommended a 52% cash dividend for its shareholders for the last fiscal year.
The 41st annual general meeting of Olympic Industries is slated for 24 December this year.
Its shares closed at Tk177.10 each on Tuesday at the DSE. The share price reached its highest of Tk207.50 during the last one year.
The company is currently the largest manufacturer, distributor, and marketer of biscuits in Bangladesh. Its key brands include Energy Plus, Nutty, Tip, Chocolate Plus, Digestive, Cracker Jack, and Lexus among 33 others.