Legal barriers create obstacles in trading odd-lot shares

Investors, having odd-lot of shares of listed companies, are facing problems to sell such stocks mainly due to their poor demand coupled with the existing legal barriers, people close to share market said.
The situation for the odd-lot shareholders of multinational companies (MNCs) is worse than that of other listed companies as the MNCs presently prefer issuing cash dividends for their stakeholders, according to them.
 "We find ourselves in a difficult situation to sell out our odd-lot of shares as the existing trading regulations do not allow many aspirant buyers to buy the same," Abdur Rahman, a general investor who has odd-lot shares, told the FE.  
As per the section 18 of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) Automated Trading Regulations, 1999, an investor will be allowed to purchase such amount shares required to fulfill his uneven lot of shares.
As a result, an investor having odd-lot of shares has to wait day after day for a buyer whose purchase order would match the sell order.
According to market insiders, there is a group of investors who have a tendency of attending the companies' AGMs (annual general meeting) purchasing one or two shares.
That's why an investor is allowed to purchase the odd-lot of shares just to fulfill his uneven lot.
Acknowledging the existing problem the people close to the multinational company have sought regulatory intervention to resolve the issue.
Abdul Khalek, the finance director of the Berger Paints Bangladesh, said personally he is also facing the problem of having odd lot of shares.
"The odd-lot of shares should not be existed after the company's listing. The securities regulator should immediately find out a mechanism so that investors can sell out their odd-lot of shares," Mr. Khalek told the FE.
When asked, the executive director of the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) Mohammad Saifur Rahman said some investors have also placed the matter before.
"We will look into the matter to find out a solution for the sake of investors," Rahman told the FE.
On Tuesday it was found that investors placed sell orders at a price of around Tk 25,000 for each share of BATBC on the main bourse, DSE.
On the other hand, the orders of odd-lot of shares of the same company were not executed even at a price of Tk 2400.
On the day the sell orders of three shares, 20 shares, one share, 25 shares, four shares, eight shares and another one share remained unsold.
The shares of BATA Shoe were sold at a price of around Tk 1060 although the share holders of odd-lots were unable to sell out their shares placing orders at a price of around Tk 1020.
The last trade of the shares of Berger Paints Bangladesh was executed at a price of Tk 993.50.
But the shareholders of odd-lots of the company failed to sell out their shares by placing orders at a price of Tk 920 for each share.