As part of its attempts to reclaim unclaimed or unallocated dividends due to investors, the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) has asked 44 listed businesses to promptly deposit these assets to the Capital Market Stabilization Fund (CMSF).
CMSF sources estimate that these 44 enterprises have unclaimed dividends totaling approximately Tk 1,000 crore, of which approximately Tk 900 crore is in bonus dividends and the remainder is in cash dividends.
The stock market regulator reinforced the instruction in a meeting with top officials of the companies. According to the sources, the CMSF, a special fund established in 2021 to manage and use unallocated investor funds, has been asked to receive any unclaimed payouts.

CMSF will gather funds from publicly listed companies and resolve investor claims upon receiving the appropriate documentation.

Among the prominent companies with unclaimed dividends are: British American Tobacco (BAT), Bangladesh Submarine Cables, Investment Corporation of Bangladesh, Singer Bangladesh, Apex Footwear, Square Pharmaceuticals, Ibn Sina Pharma, Heidelberg Cement, Olympic Industries, Padma Oil Company, Atlas Bangladesh, Munna Ceramics, GQ Ball Pen, Samarita Hospital, Navana CNG, and Maxons Spinning Mills.

The meeting that took place on July 10 at the BSEC building in Agargaon, Dhaka, addressed the audit reports concerning unclaimed or unallocated dividends and subscription funds. Officials from BSEC, representatives from CMSF, and senior executives from the relevant companies were in attendance.

It has been reported that these 44 companies possess a considerable amount of unclaimed cash dividends, bonus dividends, rights shares, and public offering subscription funds that have remained unused for several years.

A representative from CMSF indicated that certain listed companies have contested the amount of unclaimed dividends previously established by BSEC. Additionally, some companies have distributed portions of the unclaimed dividends to shareholders, contrary to BSEC’s directives.

He added, “Now after discussions with the companies, BSEC has directed them to deposit the unclaimed dividends – the money that was actually not distributed to investors – in CMSF as soon as possible.”

At the end of a financial year, listed companies declare dividends for their shareholders. As per the listing rules, the declared cash dividends have to be paid to investors within 30 days of approval at the annual general meeting (AGM).

Listed companies may fail to distribute dividends to some investors due to incomplete bank account information or other issues. In such cases, companies must keep the undistributed dividend amount in a separate bank account. However, according to CMSF data, many companies have failed to maintain separate bank accounts and have used these funds as part of their working capital (a cl).