117 Beximco-Linked BO Accounts Under Scrutiny

The Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) has frozen 117 beneficiary owner (BO) accounts allegedly linked to Beximco Ltd’s owners following a request from the Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU). On November 14, the BSEC instructed the Chittagong Stock Exchange to gather KYC forms and portfolio statements of these accounts within three days.

The Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) has proposed a new tax incentive plan to encourage companies to offer more shares through Initial Public Offerings (IPOs). Under the plan, firms that offload at least 30% of their shares would receive a five-year full corporate tax exemption.

The S Alam Group, led by its founder and chairman, has warned Bangladesh Bank's governor of potential international arbitration following allegations of siphoning off Tk 1.2 trillion ($10 billion) from Bangladeshi banks during the previous regime. The group’s lawyers, in a letter dated November 19, accused the governor of making "false and defamatory" statements that amount to an intimidation campaign against the conglomerate, which employs 200,000 people in Bangladesh.

GPH Ispat, a major Bangladeshi steelmaker, achieved a profit of Tk 6.59 crore in the first quarter of the current financial year, recovering from a Tk 16.46 crore loss in the same period last year. The earnings per share (EPS) improved to Tk 0.14 from a loss per share of Tk 0.34, driven by an 82.57% reduction in exchange losses on foreign currency transactions.