Kayes M Sohel
The securities regulator has ordered three laid-off companies to hold extraordinary general meeting (EGM) within one month to appease the concerns of their shareholders, its chairman said Sunday.
The companies- Apex Weaving, Monno Fabrics and Modern Dyeing - closed their factories seven months back citing acute natural gas crisis.
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) chairman Ziaul Haque Khondker told the FE that three companies should take urgent steps for tens of thousands of small worried investors.
"The step has been taken to protect shareholders' interest and for the greater well being of the market," Khondker said, adding the companies should be accountable to their shareholders.
The SEC issued an order Sunday directing the laid off companies listed with the bourses or with the OTC market to hold EGM within one month from the date of lay-off declaration or issuance of the latest directive.
The companies should inform its shareholders the reasons behind such lay-off of the factory and to take decision on probable date of reopening the factory and the future planning of the company regarding its operation, said the order.
It also said, the companies would have to submit the relevant notice of EGM and the decisions taken in the EGM to the SEC, stock exchanges and the shareholders concerned immediately upon issuance of the notice and holding of the EGM.
Khondker said the three companies should provide "the actual picture of their financial health" through the EGMs, as many other similar companies have survived the gas crisis.
"The shareholders have the right to know what actually led to the laid-off decision and what are the future prospects of the companies," he said.
On Sunday, shares of the Apex Weaving fell 1.37 per cent and Modern Dyeing 5.16 per cent while Monno Fabrics closed slightly 0.72 per cent higher. All the companies are in the junk category.
Earlier, the SEC also ordered the country's two bourses, Dhaka and Chittagong stock exchanges, to probe the lay-off incidence and submit reports.
Concurrently, the regulator has also urged Titas, the country's leading gas distributor, to find out whether the energy crisis had a hand behind the closure of the companies.
Listed in 1995, Apex Weaving, a major manufacturer of home textiles and bed sheets, declared a sudden shutdown, saying its production has dropped significantly due to the gas crisis.
"We have been suffering from inadequate gas pressure over the last 18 months. It has caused us millions of taka in losses," Harun-Ar-Rashid, chairman of the company, earlier told the FE.
He said the company has paid its workers over the past six months despite they had to stay idle most of the time due to inadequate supply of gas.
"We'll start production as soon as the gas supply scenario improves," he said.
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