A general investor is en route to holding major stakes in Eastern Cables, a state-run cable manufacturer.
Md Habibur Rahman is set to buy more than 5 lakh shares at the existing market price through the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) within the next 30 days, as per a disclosure yesterday.
The disclosure also said that his family members together hold more than 10 per cent shares of paid-up capital of the cable manufacturer.
In 2019, BRB Cable Industries bought nearly 18 per cent shares in Eastern Cables from the stock market.
The transaction resulted in gaining four seats for BRB Cable on the Eastern Cables board, in a bid to establish a monopoly in the huge domestic cable market, as BRB now holds around 40 per cent domestic market share, industry sources said.
According to the latest information on the DSE website, the government now holds 51 per cent stake, sponsors and directors hold 17.77 per cent, institutional investors hold 17.73 per cent and general shareholders hold 13.50 per cent of Eastern Cable's shares.
The news sent the stock price of Eastern Cables, which shed about35.6 per cent over the past two years, up 5.3 per cent to Tk 160.9 on Sunday.
Eastern Cables, a subsidiary company of Bangladesh Steel and Engineering Corporation, was listed at the DSE in 1986, and at the Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) in 1997.