BSEC directs companies to deposit unclaimed bonus dividends by January 15

The Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) has directed the listed companies and mutual funds to deposit their undistributed bonus dividends into the designated Beneficiary Owners (BO) account of the Capital Market Stabilisation Fund (CMSF) by January 15.

The stock market regulator, in a directive on Wednesday, asked the managing directors of all listed companies, issuers, mutual fund managers, the Dhaka Stock Exchange, and Chittagong Stock Exchange and other relevant organisations to take necessary measures in this regard.

According to the directive, companies and mutual funds must give a 30-day advance notice before handing over the shares. The transfer of shares must be completed within 15 days of the expiration of the notice. However, the transfer of shares has to be completed by January 15.

The shares must be converted into electronic ones before submission. Besides, dividend distribution reports and detailed information of the shareholders should be submitted to the BSEC, stock Exchanges, and Central Depository of Bangladesh Limited (CDBL), said the directive.

The BSEC had approved the 11-member Capital Market Stabilisation Fund (CMSF)’s first board of governors led by Nojibur Rahman, the former principal secretary to the prime minister, on July 7 -- a week after it framed the rules in the official gazette.

The amount of the dividends which remained undistributed or unsettled for a long period from the date of declaration has been estimated at over Tk 21,000 crore.

As per the rules, the fund must be operated by maintaining a bank account with any scheduled bank and beneficiary owner’s account in the name of the stabilisation fund.

Any amount of cash or stock dividend that remained unpaid or unclaimed or unsettled, including accrued interest income thereon, within three years from the date of declaration or approval must be transferred to the fund.

Any cash in the clients’ ledger under the consolidated customer account and any securities left in the BO account remaining unclaimed for more than three years must also be transferred by the stockbroker and portfolio managers to the fund.

The BSEC had earlier directed the listed companies to deposit undistributed dividends by July 30 this year to the designated banks.

Some listed companies started to transfer the unclaimed dividends and non-refunded IPO subscription funds to the stabilisation fund.