BSEC to restructure boards of 28 companies

Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC), the regulatory body of the stock market of the country, has decided to restructure the boards of 28 listed companies which failed to hold 30 per cent shares by November 30 deadline.

The commission gave an ultimatum till October 27 to the entrepreneurs/directors of 43 companies to hold the shares in the first phase as the holdings went below 30 per cent. The deadline was later extended till November 30.

If the shares were not held within this period, BSEC announced to reconstitute the boards of the companies concerned on November 25.

On the same day, the 750th Commission Meeting of the BSEC finalised the proposed action plan for the restructuring of the boards of all the listed companies whose entrepreneurs and directors would collectively fail to hold 30 per cent shares as per the law by November 30.

Of the 43 companies holding a total of less than 30 per cent of the shares by the directors, 15 managed to meet the conditions within the BSEC's binding period. Beximco Limited and Beximco Pharmaceuticals in a letter declared to have met the commission's condition on November 30. The other 13 announced so earlier.

As for the remaining 28 listed companies who have failed to hold 30 per cent shares by the BSEC deadline, the commission decided to restructure their boards.

After the stock market collapse in 2010, the chairman of the BSEC Prof Khairul Hossain on November 22, 2011, directed each director of the listed companies to hold 2 per cent and the entrepreneurs/directors to hold a combined 30 per cent stake. The directors of several companies filed a case in the high court against this. However, the verdict came in favour of the commission.

sr/teb