Quasem Silk Mills secretly sells factory to Reedisha Group

A Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) inspection team has found that Quasem Silk Mills Limited, a sister concern of Quasem Group, sold its sprawling manufacturing facility to Reedisha Group violating the securities rules.

PK Knit Composite Limited, a sister concern of Reedisha Group, was being operated in the factory premises of Quasem Silk Mills that mainly produced grey fabrics, the findings revealed.

The company that remained inoperative for a long period sold its entire factory premises to the Group as per the statement of PK Knit Composite, it said.

After receiving the findings from the DSE recently, the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) on Sunday instructed the company to explain its position along with the documents and other relevant papers within seven working days from the issuance of the letter.

“Selling the property without announcing price-sensitive information and below market value can lead to tough action as it is a violation of the securities rules,” said a BSEC official.

Once the company fails to explain accurately about the selling factory, the regulator will take the action as per the securities rules, he said.

The BSEC also ordered the company to submit details related to its fixed and current assets.

Quasem Silk Mills has already been on the list of companies to be shifted to the alternative trading board (ATB) platform, but to date, the company hasn’t taken any initiatives for doing so, said the DSE report.

The sponsors or directors of Quasem Silk Mills are not getting dividends for a long period, which is detrimental to the interests of the company’s investors and undesirable to the BSEC.

As per the latest shareholding report, sponsors or directors hold 49.58 per cent, general investors 50.42 per cent of the total shares.

Listed in 1988, the company held its last annual general meeting (AGM) in 2011. It was shifted to the OTC market in 2009 for its poor performance.

On September 17 last year, the BSEC dissolved the OTC market and decided to shift some companies, including Quasem Silk Mills, to the ATB.

Quasem Cotton Mills holds 33.50 per cent and Quasem Group 13.37 per cent of Quasem Silk Mills.

Since 1983, Quasem Group has been manufacturing the Sunlite battery, which was once a household product.