Business Desk:
The Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) will appoint a special auditor to investigate the financial statements of Bangladesh Welding Electrode Ltd (BD Welding) for the financial years ended on 30 June 2019 and 2020.
The issuer company will provide assistance to the auditor as required.
BSEC has already issued a directive to the company in this regard on Thursday. But the regulator has not appointed an auditor yet.
The company is engaged in manufacturing and marketing of welding electrodes, Industrial glass and other allied items.
The commission has also appointed two independent directors to the board of the company.
The company will not be allowed to sell, mortgage, pledge, transfer, transmit, or dispose of assets including Fixed Deposit Receipts (FDR) – without the prior approval of the commission.
Regulator sources said the company sold 249 decimals land and RCC structure of factory building for amounting Tk39.85 crore. The company sold per decimal land for Tk16 lakh, but the Mouza value of each land is Tk22 lakh.
The commission observed that the company showed fake information over capital gain on disposal of fixed assets of Tk33.24 crore.
Besides, the company declared a 1% stock dividend to the shareholders without earning any profit in the period of 2019, which is contrary to the securities laws.
The Bangladesh Welding Electrode Ltd (BD Welding) is now in need of fresh capital to start its operation in relocated facilities.
Under a revival plan, the company sold its factory land in Chittagong in 2017 and got rid of rearranged bank liabilities with most of the money. The rest of the amount has been spent on buying a piece of land near Dhaka to relocate the factory.
Alif group, a local private sector investor group, was interested in coming to the board of BD Welding by buying the company’s 25% share at an agreed rate from the state-owned Investment Corporation of Bangladesh (ICB).
The two parties also signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in July of 2019, according to a BD welding filing with the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE).
The company started in 1983 and listed on the Dhaka stock exchange in 1999.
Of the total shares of BD Welding, its sponsors and directors hold 31.01% while institutional investors own 2.88%, foreign investors 0.72% and general investors 65.39%.
The last closing price of the company at DSE was Tk17 on Thursday.
