Home ›› 11 Apr 2022 ›› Stock
Ratanpur Steel Re-Rolling Mills Limited (RSRM) factory remained shut down for a long period, a securities regulator probe team has found.
“An enquiry team formed by Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission formed last month visited the factory premises of the company where operations of the factory were found closed,” said the regulator in filing with the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) on Sunday.
The Business Post found BSRM senior executives’ phones switched off when it tried to contact them for comments.
On Sunday, RSRM shares declined 1 per cent to Tk 19.80 on the DSE.
On March 23 this year, a four-member inquiry committee was formed to examine the RSRM financial statements for the last five years – from 2017 to 2021.
The inquiry committee was instructed to check RSRM’s corporate governance, the role of the statutory auditor, import and export documents, money laundering issues, and the use of initial public offering (IPO) proceeds of the company.
The inquiry committee was formed headed by BSEC Additional Director Mohammad Al Masum Mirdha. The other members of the committee were Joint Director Md Saiful Islam, DSE Senior Manager Md Masud Khan, and Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) Deputy Manager Mohammad Nazmul Hossain.
The company was also expected to investigate any anomalies in the debt capital, related party transactions, and overall activities and business performance of the steelmaker.
In 2021, the steelmaker kept its steel production closed for around eight months due to the electricity shortage.
Listed in 2014, RSRM, the flagship company of Ratanpur Group that started operations in 1984, raised Tk 100 crore through the initial public offering.
RSRM Group's total bank liability stood at around Tk 2,200 crore under its four subsidiaries and the feud with lenders over the installments caused to deteriorate the company’s health.
As of March 31, sponsors and directors jointly held 29.93 per cent, institutions 33.51 per cent, and general investors 36.56 per cent of the company shares.
