The securities regulator has ordered a probe into the recent abnormal price movement and trading volume of Regent Textile Mills Limited, a junk stock on the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE).
The premier bourse has been given 30 working days from the issuance of the order on Wednesday to submit a comprehensive investigation report to the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC). The FE has seen the order.
The regulator noted that it had observed highly unusual and suspicious trading patterns in the shares of the textile manufacturer.
Market data shows that the share price of Regent Textile Mills stood at Tk 3.8 on January 1. From there, the stock surged 108 per cent to Tk 7.9 by June 11, triggering surveillance concerns.
The market watchdog asked investigators to identify any coordinated, manipulative or non-genuine trading practices used to
drive up prices. They will also examine whether there were any insider trading activities, potentially looking for any leak or misuse of unpublished price-sensitive information.
The probe will review whether stockbrokers, stock dealers or their authorised representatives (ARs) strictly complied with the commission's margin rules and standing directives.
Moreover, investigators are tasked with determining the accountability of market intermediaries, pinpointing whether brokerage houses actively facilitated or failed to stop illegal trades.
The probe team will also scan for any other compliance failures under existing securities-related laws.
Beyond the core investigation, the BSEC instructed the DSE to immediately engage with market stakeholders to curb speculative and non-compliant trading executions.
The regulator explicitly directed the bourse to build awareness among chief executive officers (CEOs), compliance officers and authorised representatives (ARs) of brokerage firms.
It also asked the Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) to coordinate with the DSE and provide all necessary historical transaction data relating to Regent Textile to help complete the time-bound inquiry.
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