Jamuna, Meghna to offload shares soon

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State-run Jamuna Oil Company and Meghna Petroleum are likely to offload their shares in the stock markets by September, an official said, reports bdnews24.com
The government recently appointed ICB Capital Management, a subsidiary of Investment Corporation of Bangladesh, as issue manager to speed up their entry into the capital market, the ICB chief executive confirmed.
The move followed a decision in August 2005 to gradually offload ICB's stakes in 21 companies including that in profitable SoEs.
According to the plan, some 49 per cent shares of Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation-owned oil marketing companies Jamuna Oil Company and Meghna Petroleum will be offloaded under direct listing rules.
The ICB advised restructuring the capital bases of the companies prior to divestment.
"We are working on it. We will recommend offloading of sufficient shares of the two companies after revaluation of their assets. I hope shares of these two companies can be offloaded by September this year," Ziaul Haque Khondker, chief executive of ICB, told the news agency.
According to their balancesheets, Jamuna Oil's present authorised capital and paid-up capital are Tk 100 million and Tk 50 million respectively. Meghna's authorised capital and paid-up capital are Tk 100 million and Tk 96 million respectively.
Md Iftikhar-uz-zaman, chief executive of ICB Capital Management, said the paid-up capital of these companies would be raised after revaluation of their assets.
Their current reserves will also be included in raising paid-up capital, he said.
The two SOEs also applied to the Registrar of Joint Stock Companies and Firms for becoming public limited companies.
In 2006, the government, in line with a plan, offloaded 25 per cent shares of Dhaka Electric Supply Company (DESCO) and Power Grid Company Bangladesh(PGCB).