Walton's share price exceeds Tk1,000 in 10 days
The opening price of each share was Tk378 at DSE
Within 10 days of its debut at the local bourses, Walton Hi-Tech Industries Ltd's share price crossed Tk1,000 on Tuesday.
At the same time, the company assumed tenth place on the list of top valuable stocks at the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE).
On Tuesday, the closing price of each share of Walton increased by 6.25% to reach Tk1,002.70 at the DSE.
Its debut was on September 23 and the opening price of each share was Tk378 at DSE.
Reckitt Benckiser, GlaxoSmith, Marico, Renwick, Berger, Linde, Renata, British American Tobacco, and Eastern Lubricant are now ahead of Walton in terms of share price.
Reckitt Benckiser currently holds the top position on the list of most valuable stocks with a share price of Tk3,835 each.
On September 30, Walton emerged as the second-largest listed company of the country, surpassed only by Grameenphone.
To cross Grameenphone's market capitalisation, Walton's share price has to reach Tk1,468 per share, said an analyst of a stock brokerage firm.
At the end of Tuesday's trading session, Grameenphone's market capitalisation stood at Tk44,397 crore while that of Walton was Tk28,487 crore.
Disclosed business growth and extremely low float of shares made Walton such a hit seller in the bourses, that almost no investor inquired about the price of the stock during its first 10 days of trading.
Buyers had been bidding at the ceiling of the allowable limit of the day's price and very few investors preferred catering them with supply.
As the rise in market price of Walton shares is yet to show any sign of abating, analysts are curiously watching how the company catches up with Grameenphone or at least reduces the gap in company size.
During a virtual conference on October 5, Salman F Rahman, the prime minister's adviser for private industry and investment, has questioned the approval of the listing of Walton on the stock market via an offloading of only 1% of its shares.
The conference was organised by the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC).
He said, "I do not know whether it has been done intentionally, but it is sending a wrong message."
BSEC Chairman Shibli Rubayat-Ul-Islam informed the conference that Walton's bidding and other parts of the IPO process ended before he took charge.
"But we are keeping an eye so that such things do not happen in future," he said.
He also added, "We will arrange a meeting with Walton officials to protect the interests of investors."
Walton issued each of its primary shares to the public at Tk252 in its widely discussed initial public offering (IPO) this year.
While ringing the bell for Walton, DSE Managing Director Kazi Sanaul Hoq said Walton's listing with the capital market is a milestone.
He also expected that Walton would do better than multinational companies listed on the country's capital market, and it is already evident that his expectations are being realised.
Walton collected Tk100 crore from the market to expand its business and repay some bank loans.
Many analysts believe the company with a net asset value per share of Tk243 and an annual profit per share of Tk45.87 entered the market mainly for a price discovery.
Thanks to a conducive policy and its own hunger for growth, Walton has emerged as Bangladesh's refrigerator giant during its journey of two decades.
Now fast acquiring a technological edge in electronics, it is now moving exponentially towards becoming an international market player.