BRAC Bank turnover leader in 2007

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FE Report
BRAC Bank Ltd, Rupali Bank and Islami Bank Bangladesh Ltd bagged the top positions in terms of turnover, market capitalisation and earning per share (EPS) respectively on the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) in 2007.
According to the latest DSE statistics, BRAC Bank was the top turnover leader with shares traded worth Tk 23.88 billion, followed by Power Grid (Tk 23.72 billion).
BRAC Bank made the debut on January 31, 2007 on DSE and Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE).
"The BRAC Bank having strong fundamentals attracted the investors and became the turnover leader though it was traded for 11 months instead of 12 months in the year," a market operator said.
Each share of BRAC Bank was traded below Tk 600 on the debut day which hovered around Tk 1500 in the month of December last year.
Power Grid was the top turnover leader in 2006 with shares traded worth only Tk 3.0 billion.
2007 was a booming year for stocks market, generating a sort of frenzy among the investors. Since the change over of 1/11, buoyant, except for occasional downtrend.
The daily average turnover surged to a record Tk 1.36 billion in 2007 from Tk 285.43 million of 2006.
Rupali Bank retained the top position in market capitalisation in 2007 with Tk 36.30 billion against Tk 20.82 billion of 2006. The price of the company surged on the back of the news that Saudi Prince will buy the Bank.
The trading of Rupali Bank shares, however remained suspended since November 5 last year when its transfer to the prince became uncertain.
Square Pharmaceuticals and Lafarge Cement were the second and third top market capitalisation leaders, gaining Tk 32.92 billion and Tk 27.91 billion respectively.
In terms of EPS, Islami Bank Bangladesh Ltd retained the top position with an earnings of Tk 485.94 per share against that of Tk 487.57 in 2006.
Renata Ltd and United Commercial Bank were the second and third in terms of EPS with an earning of Tk 301.41 and Tk 252.76 respectively.
Square Pharma and Renata attracted the investors when both the companies obtained certificate to have access to the pharmaceutical markets of United Kingdom in 2007.
The accreditation of London-based Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) to Square and Renata paved the way for the expansion of Bangladesh pharmaceutical products to European countries.
Islami Bank attracted the investors with the floatation of a bond named IBBL Mudaraba Perpetual Bond worth Tk 3.0 billion while United Commercial Bank encouraged the investors with the news of holding pending annual general meetings for three years and disbursing arrear dividends.
There were 14 initial public offerings (IPO) worth Tk 4.63 billion in 2007 against 7 worth Tk 1.43 billion of 2006 ( general public portion).