Govt to offload SOEs shares

The government has decided to offload shares of the state-owned enterprises (SOEs) in the stock market by phases after reforming the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), official sources said. It has also decided not to offload the shares before the start of the next fiscal, sources added.

The decision was taken at an inter-ministerial meeting held in the city recently with Finance Secretary Dr Muhammad Tareq in the chair. Representatives from banking division of finance ministry, Bangladesh Bank, SEC and energy division attended the meeting, among others.

The government on February 14 this year postponed its earlier decision relating to offloading of SOEs ' shares amid massive price fall of shares in the country's two bourses.
Later, in the first week of April, the finance ministry asked 21 SOEs to complete their formalities for offloading their shares in the capital market.

The SOEs were also asked to appoint chartered accountants firms to complete asset valuation, and issue managers and post-issue managers for the purpose.
The SOEs are to divest up to 49 per cent of their equity capital to boost flow of shares in the bourses which is considered as one of the main reasons behind overpricing of shares in the capital market.

To increase the supply of shares in the bourses Rupali Bank on November 25 last year started offloading its additional 24.55 per cent (2,857,380) shares held by the government.
The government decided last year to offload 49 per cent of its stakes with 26 SOEs and retain 51 per cent of its equity capital.