UCB to form subsidiary to provide MFS

The board of directors of United Commercial Bank (UCB) has decided to form a subsidiary company, aiming to provide mobile financial services (MFS).
The formation of subsidiary company is subject to completion of all regulatory formalities from Bangladesh Bank (BB) and the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC), said a disclosure posted on the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) website on Monday.
Initial authorised and paid-up capital of the subsidiary company will be Tk 5.0 billion and Tk 500 million respectively which shall be increased from time to time as per investment requirement of the regulatory authority, the disclosure said.
According to the disclosure, UCB will hold at least 51 per cent shares of the subsidiary company and the rest 49 per cent shares may be offered to national/international reputed MFS/DFS providers as per MFS guidelines of Bangladesh Bank.
Each share of the bank, which was listed on the DSE in 1986, closed at Tk 16.80 on Monday, registering an increase of 1.82 per cent over the previous day.
In the last one year, its share traded between Tk 15.70 and Tk 25.30.
The bank disbursed 10 per cent cash dividend for the year ended on December 31, 2017.
As per the un-audited financial statements, the bank's consolidated earnings per share (EPS) stood at Tk 0.73 for July-September 2018 as against Tk 1.25 for July-September 2017.
In nine months, the consolidated EPS was Tk 1.78 for January-September 2018 as against Tk 2.50 for January-September 2017.
The consolidated net operating cash flow per share (NOCFPS) was Tk 6.04 in the negative for January-September 2018 as against Tk 11.88 for January-September 2017.
The consolidated net asset value (NAV) per share was Tk 26.27 as on September 30, 2018 and Tk 25.38 as on September 30, 2017.
The bank's paid-up capital is Tk 10.54 billion and authorised capital is Tk 15 billion, while the total number of securities is 1.05 billion.
The sponsor-directors own 34.67 per cent stake in the bank while the government owns 0.81 per cent, institutional investors 18.87 per cent, foreign investors 1.84 per cent and the general public 43.81 per cent as on October 30, 2018, the DSE data shows.
Recently, the securities regulator has given consent for raising Tk 8.0 billion through issuance of unsecured, non-convertible, non-listed and redeemable UCB fourth subordinated bond for seven years tenure.
The bank will fulfil the requirement for Tier-II Capital base by raising capital through the bond issue.

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