12 digital firms keen to be on small-cap board
The companies sought guidance from the securities regulator on how they can make their way to the platform
The representatives of a dozen young and successful technology-based companies have expressed their interest in getting listed on the small-cap platform of local bourses.
In a meeting on Tuesday, the digital firms sought guidance from the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) on how they can make their way to the platform dedicated for promising small companies.
The companies include: popular on-demand services platform Sheba XYZ, grocery retail e-commerce Chaldal, vehicle maintenance platform company Zantrik, delivery management firm Landknock, and on-demand maid service platform Hellotask.
The other companies are: app developer Bondstein Technologies, software firm Brain Station 23, technology-dependent courier service firm E-Courier, specialised grocery retail e-commerce Khass Food, smart preventive care platform CMED, IT firms Devine IT, and AnnaNovas IT Ltd.
Presided over by BSEC Commissioner Professor Shaikh Shamsuddin Ahmed, the meeting was also attended by Executive Director Rezaul Karim and many other officials of the commission.
The BSEC will help the companies be on the small-cap board, said the regulatory officials responding to a request by the firms for creating awareness and training on the listing.
In 2018, the capital market regulator allowed both the country's bourses to build their small-cap platforms where firms smaller than the ready-for-initial-public-offering companies can float their shares.
The small-cap platform requires a company to have at least Tk5 crore in paid-up capital, while the post-listing paid-up capital must not be less than Tk10 crore and not more than Tk30 crore.
The special platform does not welcome laymen to invest there, being it in primary shares of secondary trading.
Only the qualified investors having some minimum capital base and understanding of risks and return potential can invest in companies in the small-cap platform.
Since the establishment of the platform, both the Dhaka Stock Exchange and the Chattogram Stock Exchange have not yet listed any small company there.
But, applications from two small companies are already with the BSEC.