LankaBangla Securities gets nod to trade on ATB

The Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) approved the listing of LankaBangla Securities Limited’s ordinary shares on the alternative trading board (ATB) of the bourse.

Parent company LankaBangla Finance owns a 92.31 per cent stake in LankaBangla Securities, according to a filing posted on the DSE website on Thursday.

The country’s premier exchange is set to launch the alternative trading board by January next year where debt securities would be listed, and the mutual funds, alternative investment funds, and non-listed companies would be traded.

The securities regulator Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) already approved the Alternative Trading Board Regulation 2022. 

According to the regulation, any non-listed company would be allowed to get listed directly on the ATB and continue share trading by converting them from private limited company to public limited ones.

To this end, interested companies must have Demat shares (electronic shares) and audited financial reports in the last three fiscal years.

Companies, however, with fewer operating years would also be considered for listing on the ATB. Besides LankaBangla Securities, Bengal Meat, AFC Health and Pran Agro are in the listing process on the ATB platform.

Earlier in May this year, the DSE said some 76 open-end mutual funds, 18 equity securities, and 15 debt securities of the country were ready for listing on the ATB.