Himadri Limited asked to offload 10% more shares

The securities regulator has asked Himadri Limited, a listed company which is being traded on the SME platform of the Dhaka Stock Exchange, to offload 10% shares from the holdings of its sponsors and directors.

The company, which provides cold storage facilities for agro-based products such as potatoes across the country, has a plan to introduce more cold storage facilities.

The Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) has issued the directive in a letter recently sent to the Himadri Limited, local stock exchanges and the Central Depository of Bangladesh Limited (CDBL).

The regulator observed that Himadri Limited's share prices have been soaring unusually for the last few months without any apparent reason.

The commission seems such unusual hikes often happen when the free float shares of a company are low in the market.

In such a reality, the market regulator has asked Himadri Limited to offload more shares within the next 30 days and the stock exchanges will ensure its compliance, said a source on the condition of anonymity.

According to the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), Himadri Limited has a total of 7.50 lakh shares, whereas only 700 shares are being traded on the SME platform.

Earlier, Himadri Limited was shifted from the over-the-counter (OTC) market to the SME platform on 30 September last year. The company shares were for the last time traded on the OTC market on 8 March 2014 at Tk8 each.

Later, the share price of the company started to rise unusually after the transition to the SME platform. The shares last traded at Tk35.30 on Thursday.

It had paid a 10% cash dividend to its shareholders for the fiscal 2020-21, but the company did not disclose its financial report.