Desco has been listed in country's both the bourses under the direct listing procedure and the Investment Corporation of Bangladesh (ICB) on behalf of the Desco will start offloading shares tomorrow through its subsidiary ICB Securities Trading Company Ltd, sources said.

The first two days -- June 18 and 19 -- trading of Desco shares will continue for two hours which starts from 10 am to 12 noon.

Buyers can put their orders in the pre-opening session (9.40 am to 9.55 am) and also in the trading session (10 am to 12 noon).

ICB Securities Trading Company will start offer for sale from 10.16 am. Settlement of trades for the two days will be on spot basis. Orders can be placed only for a market lot or its multiple but not exceeding 250 shares.

Normal trading will start on the fourth day while there will be no trading for the Desco on the third day.

The company will join the capital market by releasing around 3.2 million shares worth Tk 317 million. The face value of each share is Tk 100 while its market lot is 50.

As per Direct Listing Regulations, the company is required to offload at least 10 percent of existing shares within 30 working days from the date of listing. However, Desco has intended to offload 25 percent (3,177,985) shares from its existing shares to the public.

Out of this proposed offloading, 10 percent (317,798) shares will be distributed to the directors and employees of Desco as per government decision.

The initiative of offloading the shares of Desco is a part of the government's broader goal of the capital market development. Credit Rating Information and Services Ltd (CRISL), a credit rating company, has rated the Desco as A+ in long term and ST-2 in short term.

As on June 30, 2005 the net asset value (NAV) per share of Desco stood Tk 149.33 while earning per share (EPS) in the financial year of 2004-05 was Tk 42.51 as against Tk 26.59 in the 2003-04 fiscal . During the 2004-05 financial year, the net profit of Desco was Tk 540 million while operating profit was Tk 883 million against its operating revenue of Tk 5,476 million.

Meanwhile, Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) Ltd in a statement said shares of Desco will be traded in CSE under settlement category A and dematerialised form. Desco is the second company to be listed with the CSE under direct listing regulations, it added.

CSE said Desco has been listed in CSE on June 7, 2006. For smooth trading of Desco shares from today, CSE organised Friday an awareness programme for the members and their authorised representatives so that they can cope with the new trading system as announced earlier.

Nasiruddin Ahmed Chowdhury, CSE first vice president, and AB Siddique, chief executive officer, also spoke at the inaugural programme.